


On Gilded Wings

by Wildfire63010



Series: "Paradox" Canon [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-04-20 01:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4769099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildfire63010/pseuds/Wildfire63010
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Dipper finds out about an ancient artifact with seemingly magical powers, Mabel, Soos, and Pacifica are dragged into an epic quest. Twists and turns in the quest force Dipper to come to terms with love and morality, and as the quest progresses, Dipper finds out more about what really happened on August 31, 2012 - Why everyone seems to remember things a bit differently...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aftermath of Northwest Manor Mystery...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica are 3 years older than is canon. Well, technically. You'll see what I mean when Chapter 9 is posted.

**The Paradox Canon**

**Book 1: On Gilded Wings**

**Act 1: Eccentricities**

**Chapter 1: Aftermath**

* * *

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

**I shifted uncomfortably in my tux, thinking over the events that had taken place tonight.** First, Pacifica had shown up at the Shack, asking for my help with a 'problem', which had turned into a full out fight for our lives earlier. I shook my head as I realized that this had all taken place in one day. One huge, event-filled day.

It was 11:30, and the party showed no signs of stopping, or even slowing down. I, for one, was dead tired, you know, due to running for my life, and all. I found it morbidly funny how I, and possibly Pacifica, was tired, while no one else here was.

My little chat with McGucket hadn't exactly helped, with his talk of eminent danger, or whatever. I needed to relax right now, not be worried about some horrible, life-changing event, or even chain of events. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, and scanned the ballroom.

There were people from all walks of life here, since Pacifica opened the gates. But, I shouldn't be here, should I? I fit in with the 'common folk', but the rich, fancy people were an entirely different matter all together. I wasn't one of them. I didn't _want_ to be one of them, especially if it meant being snobby like them.

But, I realized tonight that people can change, sometimes even drastically. Pacifica was a prime example of that. Before tonight, I had thought her just to be another snobby, arrogant rich kid, who picks on everyone who doesn't have as much money as her. But, I actually had fun taking out the ghost with her, even if it was mostly filled with running, and screaming.

I scanned the room again, and saw Pacifica waving at me. I sighed and walked over. She can't be all bad, can she? When I reached Pacifica, she smiled nervously. Like she had something embarrassing she couldn't get out of her mind. "Hey! Wanna dance, dork? You're at the world's best party, so why not enjoy it?" she asked, reaching out to take my hands.

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess, but I don't know how," I said awkwardly. After I confessed to Wendy and all of that was said and done, I began to get awkward around girls. Before, I wasn't distracted by them, and could be around them without stuttering, and acting like a complete idiot, but now, I looked like a fool just by talking to them.

Pacifica laughed. "It's fine, doofus! Here, I'll teach you. Take my hands." I did as she said, and slowly but surely, she taught me how to dance. Pretty soon, we were waltzing as well as any other couple on the dance floor. But, wait, Pacifica and I weren't technically a couple, were we? Were we?

After what seemed like an eternity, which in my opinion, wasn't a bad thing, the Party began to slow. People were leaving, and the vibrant, exciting air of the party left with them. I looked over and smiled as I saw Mabel and Candy trying to pull Grenda towards the door. I guess even they knew it was time to leave.

Pacifica followed my gaze, and laughed. Mabel heard this, and gave Pacifica a confused glare. Mabel eyed Pacifica, and from what I saw, it seemed as if Mabel disapproved of Pacifica and I dancing. "What's she doing that for? I thought we made up, or whatever," Pacifica said.

I shrugged. "It's most likely just Mabel being Mabel. In her mind, a boy and a girl can't even talk to each other in a coherent manner without like each other." When Pacifica giggled, I explained further. "I'm not joking, either. Yesterday, she tried to play matchmaker with two senior citizens having a discussion about what kind of milk makes you gassy."

Pacifica couldn't hold it it. She started laughing, and I laughed with her. "Really?"

"Yeah," I said, "I just hope that she doesn't get the wrong idea about us."

Pacifica smile all but vanished. "Yeah, the wrong idea. Let's hope that doesn't happen."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why is she acting all weird now?" I unknowingly spoke aloud, "It's like she _wants_ me to feel awkward. Then again, it's hard not to be awkward when you're dancing with the prettiest girl in the whole town."

Pacifica froze. "You...you think I'm pretty?" she asked.

Wait, did I say that out loud? "Uh...yeah, I do," I said, fumbling with my words. Of course I thought she was pretty. In my mind, almost every girl was pretty in their own way. But, for some reason, I thought Pacifica to be a different kind of pretty. It was weird, and I couldn't explain my thought process on the matter.

Before Pacifica could respond, I spoke again. "Hey, it's been fun and all, but it's late, and I should be going. I'll see you soon, I guess," I said, and began nervously walking away.

Pacifica caught up with me, and held me back. "You're not going anywhere until we finish this conversation. Also, you're still wearing the borrowed tux."

I looked down, and sure enough, I still had the tux on. I couldn't believe I'd almost forgotten to change. My journal was in my vest. I almost left it. I sighed, and Pacifica led me to the changing room.

"Hey, I'll bet you 20 bucks that you can't change in under 5 minutes!" she said, thankfully changing the subject.

"You're on!" I said, racing into the changing room. After I was done, I walked out. "What was my time?" I asked.

Pacifica looked annoyed. "4 minutes and 53 seconds. You won, so here, take your prize. Oh, uh, you can keep the tux," she said, holding out a $20 bill. I reached out to take it, but she stepped back. "Or, you know, you could take a _different_ prize."

"W-what k-kind of different prize?" I asked.

Pacifica smiled. "Follow me."

I did as she said. She led me through what seemed like an endless amount of hallways and rooms before we finally came upon the ballroom.

"Wait, why are we here? Why didn't we just go back the way we came instead of touring the whole house?" I asked.

"Insurance," Pacifica replied. Before I could ask her what she meant, she led me out into the main hallway. We were just out of sight of the front doors, where her parents were.

She pulled a painting off of the wall, and flicked the switch hidden behind it. A small hole, around 4 feet by 4 feet, appeared in the wall in front of us. She climbed in, and started to climb down the ladder inside. "Come on, Dipper, we don't have all night," she said, a bit to excitedly more my liking. I did as she said, however, and descended into the secret room.

**\- - - Pacifica Northwest - - -**

**"Woah, what is this place?" asked Dipper.** He marveled at all of the weird stuff this room had, from old china, to paintings, to old furniture like chairs, and even a small table. It beats me how they even got it down here. Who knows how long ago _that_ was. This place looked a million years old. There was also an unruly amount of dust, and we both coughed a bit more than I'd like to admit.

"It's a secret room I found about 4 years ago. It's one I don't think even my parents know exists," I said, pulling Dipper a bit closer to me.

"W-why did you bring me here?" he asked.

"Think about it, Dipper. You're smart. If my parents don't know about it, there a lack of one certain thing," I said, placing my hand on my hips.

"There's no cameras in here?" he asked. He looked around nervously, like he was afraid to meet my gaze.

"Yes, you dork," I said. I hoped he didn't mind the playful insults.

"Okay, but why would you want to bring me to a place with no security cameras?" he asked. God, he was oblivious. He really could put 2 and 2 together, but he couldn't put 2 and 2 together, if you know what I mean.

"I don't know, why would I, Dipper?" I asked. I stepped closer to him, bringing the gap between us down to only about a foot.

"Why would I know? You're the one that brought me here, not the other way around!" he said. Could he be any more oblivious?

I put my hand on the back of his head, and pulled him in, but paused right before our lips met. I wanted to gauge his reaction. I was nervous. _Really, really_ nervous. It was almost as if I could feel his heartbeat. I fancied that our heartbeats were synchronized at about a million miles per hour, right now.

When Dipper didn't react, I closed the distance between us. When his lips met mine, it was like a million tiny fireworks went off in my chest. His lips were warm, and slightly moist, but I didn't mind. I didn't mind anything right now. It felt like pure bliss kissing him.

It was a spur of the moment decision to bring him here, but it sure paid off. I had only realized after we danced how much I truly liked him, or that I even liked him at all, but God, did I love him.

I held our lips together for a solid 10 seconds, and wanted more, but he broke away. "W-what the heck was that for, Pacifica?" he asked.

"I...I don't really know, Dipper, I just...I just...I don't know!" I said. I was speechless, and freaking out like I'd seen a bug. I didn't want him to know I liked him, not yet at least, but I'd pretty much given myself away.

"I don't really know, either, Pacifica. But, can...can we do it again?" he asked. God, what a moron. I didn't even nod. I pulled him in again, and felt much better this time. Maybe it was just because I hadn't been scorned by him for the kiss. Maybe it was because now I knew that he wasn't going to hate me for it afterward.

After about 15 seconds, he broke away, and inwardly I frowned. I wanted more, dangit! "Pacifica, I'm assuming it would be best if your parents didn't find out about what happened down here," Dipper said.

"Of course. You know as well as I do that they'd flip out," I answered, giggling.

Dipper looked back up towards the ladder. "We should get going, Pacifica. We don't want them to get suspicious," he said. I nodded.

As we climbed the ladder, he started talking again. "You know, it's a strange and weird change of events from hating each other three weeks ago," he said.

I laughed. "That it is," I said, and stopped him at the top of the ladder. "Dipper, before anything else happens, promise me that you won't tell anyone of what's just occurred unless I give you permission, okay?" I asked, hopeful.

Dipper nodded. "Yeah, that'd be best. You'll do the same?" he asked. When I nodded, he motioned towards the front door. "Come on, we better get going," he said, but then stopped himself. "Oh, wait, if anyone asks you if you 'met a boy', say no. Technically, you already know me, and 'met a boy' usually implies something I don't want implied, so avoid a conversation like that if you can."

I nodded. "And you'll do the same?" I asked.

He laughed. "Of course, but only if they ask if I 'met a girl'."

I laughed as well.

His whole demeanor changed instantly, and he almost seemed to be in pain. "Y-you do realize that this w-was a one-time thing, right? I'll likely never get another chance to come here, even if another g-ghost decides to rear its head."

I was shocked, not expecting him to go off on a tangent like that. "Of course. My parents would never allow you to be anywhere near me."

He nodded. "Obviously. I'm not surprised."

I smirked. "However, I'm not my parents, as weird as that would be. If you ever want to talk, here's my cell number," I said, pulling out the pen I always kept in my purse. "May I see your arm?" I asked.

Dipper looked confused, but realized my intentions soon enough. "Oh, yeah sure," he said, holding out his left arm.

"There," I said, scribbling my number onto his forearm. "Friends?" I asked.

"Friends," he replied, and I knew that for the first time, I had a real, true friend. Not a friend whole only liked me because of my parents, or because I was rich, but a true friend. Smiling, I decided that we'd talk again very soon. We headed off towards the front door, where my parents were sending people off.

When we reached the front door, we said our goodbyes. My parents were there, pretending to look worried. "Where were you two? You took him to get changed 30 minutes ago!" my father said.

I looked down. "I...I just took him to see some of the mansion. He's interested in architecture, so I thought he'd like it."

Dipper caught on right away. "Yeah, it was great! So many cool designs I want to use one day!" he wistfully feigned.

Thankfully, my parents didn't catch on. "Very well. Dipper Pines, the three of us thank you dearly for coming tonight, and for helping us with our problem. Goodnight!" My father said.

Dipper returned in kind, and left. My father turned from the door to me, and smiled. It was like he knew something that I didn't. I...I wasn't seeing a very bright future right now.


	2. A Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica has a mysterious run-in with Bill, and asks Dipper to help...

**The Paradox Canon  
**

**Book 1: On Gilded Wings**

**Act: Eccentricities**

**Chapter 2: A Spark**

 

* * *

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**“Dipper, you're not acting right. Is something wrong?” Mabel asked.** “Do you need to be poked by the fun stick?” We were up in the attic of the Mystery Shack, getting ready for bed after a long night of partying when Mabel had dropped a bombshell on me. This was just great. Mabel obviously suspects something.

 

But...what was I worried about? There was nothing for her to suspect. But, I had earlier decided, it was better to steer clear of questions like the one she was asking. She might fool me into saying something I'd regret. “No, I'm fine!” I said, a bit to enthusiastically.

 

Mabel took a deep breath. “Alert! The skepticals had chosen a target! I shall cast skepticalisticalness on Dipper Pines!” she screeched. Every time Mabel thought that she'd uncovered some big cover-up, she'd get all excited. In that regard, she was quite like me.

 

She'd continue on like this from 3 days to around a week. It was going to get annoying, but after 14 years of living with her, I'd gotten used to it. I sighed. “Mabel, it's probably not a good idea to scream like that at 2:30 in the morning,” I said, only slightly irritated.

 

“Nonsense! Once the skepticals have chosen a target, there is no escape! This could continue for months! Years! Weeks, even!” she ranted uncontrollably, while I sat down on my bed and tried to ride out the storm.

 

Eventually, Grunkle Stan poked his head through the door. “You two knuckleheads okay in here? I heard a dying animal. Was it that goat? Or even better, Mabel's pig!” he said.

 

Mabel glared at him. “It was  _ not _ Waddles dying, just so you know,” she said, then stuck her tongue out at him. Ever since Stan decided to let Mabel keep Waddles, they'd been like this, Stan joking about him, and Mabel getting 'offended'. “Anyway,” Mabel continued, “Dipper's been acting suspicious! So suspicious, in fact, the skepticals have cast their gaze on him!” she said, making the all-too-familiar symbol around her eyes.

 

Grunkle Stan sighed. “What time is it, again, Mabel?” he asked. He was obviously tired, and knew I had to be as well. During Mabel's next continuation of her rant, he glanced at me and mouthed 'Women, huh?' I smiled. 'Yeah, she's always like this,' I mouthed. As if by miracle, he understood. He smiled, and I knew that he would always have my back. It did little to comfort me, though, as I had a feeling that he wouldn't be there soon. I had little time to dwell on it, I decided, and Stan and I went back to withstanding Mabel's torrent of torment.

 

After most likely waking the whole town up, Mabel finally stopped. “There! Now you know all 586 reason that I think Dipper is acting suspicious! But there has to be a reason, though! It's almost as if...as if he met a girl! Dipper, who is it? Is it...” she gasped. “Is it Pacifica?”

 

I shook my head, trying to look innocent. “No, it wasn't Pacifica,” I said, and facepalmed.

 

“So you  _ did _ meet a girl!” Mabel yelled. Stan gave me a reassuring look, and back out of the room. I was alone with Mabel, and I didn't think this was going to end any time soon.

 

“No, Mabel, I did  _ not  _ meet a girl. I simply fumbled with my words. You do it all of the time. Am I not allowed to have little slips of the tongue here and there?” I asked, hopeful.

 

Mabel narrowed her eyes. “I'm not sure I believe you. I'll have to get back to you on that.”

 

“Mabel, as much as I love you, we've been home for 2 hours. That's hardly a conclusive case you have, there. You're telling me, that after less than an hour of sleuth work, since you said you've only been investigating for an hour, and you think I've met a girl? Mabel, even if there was  _ substantial _ evidence to the contrary, my word should be enough to turn you away from the 'case',” I said, unimpressed by Mabel's earlier show of force.

 

Mabel sighed, and sat back down on her bed. “I don't know, Dipper. It seems like you always get to have the cool adventures and I never get to do anything. I just want to be a part of one, and it seems like being myself is the only way.”

 

“Being yourself isn't the only way, but it would be the best way, Mabel. You're great, Mabel, and I love you with all of my heart, but sometimes you get a bit overbearing. If coming along with me on my adventures if what you truly want, then heck yeah! I'll sure as heck let you come! All I asked is that you tone it back a bit. You're going really fast, which isn't a bad thing in itself, but you're giving everyone around you a headache. Just...slow it down a bit,” I said.

 

Mabel nodded solemnly. “Yeah, okay.”

 

I walked over, and pulled her into a hug. “Mabel, come on, cheer up! Be the Mabel we all know and love!  _ Be _ spontaneous, _ be _ adventurous,  _ be _ amazing!”

 

Mabel laughed. “Yeah, okay. I'll do what I do best. Making people smile. That's what I'm all about.”

 

“So you get joy out of bringing joy to others? Sounds familiar,” I said. Mabel laughed, and playfully slugged me across the shoulder. I smiled, knowing everything was going to be alright.

 

\- - -  **Pacifica Northwest - - -**

 

**I yawned unenthusiastically, and the three others on our** **Skype** **call followed suit.** I guess they're really telling the truth when they say yawning is contagious. 

 

Anyway, I was talking to my friends Addison, Mallory, and Daniel. None of them had been able to come  to the party , which was slightly bittersweet for me. On one hand, I wanted them to come, because they're my friends, and I'd've had a great time hanging out with them. But, on the other had, I wouldn't have had the chance to talk to Dipper like I did if they had come. Naturally, I was torn on the issue. 

 

“ Pacifica, are you, like, okay? You're so, like, quiet 'n' shit now,” Addison said. Addison...well, Addison was the living incarnation of the valley girl stereotype. She was rich, she was annoying at times, she was sorta bitchy at times, swore a lot, and used the word 'like' a lot.  I had once told her about this, and her response was 'Like, aren't we, like, all?'

 

“Addison, you know how I feel about swearing,” I said, uninterested in the conversation.

 

“Doesn't matter at this point, Pacifica. What  _ I _ wanna know, is what the hell happened at that party, am I right? You're acting so different. It's almost like you met a boy!” Addison said, getting excited over nothing. Dipper had taught me exactly what to say to defuse this situation.

 

“Huh, interesting thought, Addison. Well, Pacifica? We're waiting on an answer. Did you, or did you not meet a boy? It'd be a shame if you did, seeing as we're meant for each other, ” Daniel  said, flashing his perfectly white teeth.

 

Before I realized that I liked Dipper earlier tonight, Daniel was the one I liked,  and he had always joked about us being meant for each other. Daniel had glorious dark chocolate colored hair, and his face was well-cut. He always wore his hair swept gently to the right, and it would always look as if he'd just gotten it professionally styled.  Oh, and my God, his voice! His voice was smooth and flowing, and under the right circumstances, sounded like silk. Don't ask me what I mean by that. I don't rightly know.

 

Right now, he wore a maroon Journey shirt, featuring one of their many album covers. He had told me one time that he really didn't know any of their songs, but his dad was a big Journey  fan and had given him the shirt. He was wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants, and devilish smirk.

 

I took out my earbuds and took a deep breath. I was a bit _ too  _ used to gossiping, a bit  _ too _ used to sharing things with these guys. It was going to be hard to evade their suspicions. I said some rather rude words under my breath, and facepalmed. I had just gotten onto Addison, and then gone and done the same thing she did. I took another deep breath, and steeled myself. 

 

When I put my earbuds back in, I heard Addison and Mallory taunting me. 'Met a boy! Met a boy!' I had to fight to keep myself from reaching through my computer and slapping both of them.  “Short answer?”  I said, “ No. I didn't meet a boy,”  I  knew I hadn't dodged the question entirely.

 

“Oh?” Daniel asked. “Then, the long answer would be?” He had a way of getting exactly what he wanted out of you. I did note that today his voice was a bit higher a had more of a spring in it than usual.

 

“I didn't meet a boy at the party. There was, however, a ton of screaming and running in terror from a lumberjack ghost that tried to kill everyone there, and almost succeeded.”

 

Addison and Mallory laughed, but Daniel looked unsurprised. “Did there happen to be a boy with you?” he asked.

 

“Yeah. He's the brother of my ex-nemesis, Mabel Pines. Me and her have made up, though,” I said, knowing I'd given away too much. There's no way they could know who Mabel is, though, right?

 

“Oh, that makes sense ,” Daniel said, unimpressed. “Was there another boy there?” he asked.

 

“Of course! There were tons of boys there. It  _ was _ only the biggest party in the world,” I said.

 

“Okay, okay, makes sense,” he said. I guessed that I actually fooled him. I already knew Dipper, and he was right, using his line helped me get rid of suspicion.

 

“But what about this?” Daniel asked. “I think, that Pacifica already knew said mystery boy!” Addison and Mallory resumed their obnoxious taunting.

 

I had to fight back a smile at how close he was to the truth. 'Mystery boy'? Yep, that sounds like Dipper. “What do you mean, Daniel?” I asked.

 

“What I'm saying, is that I think you found a boyfriend in some boy you already knew. Getting a new boyfriend is the only thing that would cause Pacifica Northwest to act like this.”

 

I needed a way out, like, right now. I wouldn't be able to keep up the charade much longer. “Hey, guys, I wish I could stay and chat, but I'm really tired. I had a big day, you know, running for your life takes a lot out of you. I need to hit the hay,” I said, knowing they'd be suspicious.

 

“She's dodging the question!” Mallory said. “Nah, it's fine, Pacifica. We'll just pester you next time we talk! It'll be great!” she finished, winking at me.

 

“Yeah, Mallory’s right. We're gonna go to bed, too. Come on, Mallory!” Addison said. They then hung up at the same time, which didn't surprise me, as they're twins.

 

Daniel  smiled. “Hey, Pacifica? I've got something to tell you. I'm not just your average human, especially since last week. I can do lots of things. I  _ know  _ lots of things. I  _ see _ many things. Say 'hi' to Dipper for me,” he said, and hung up. As he hung up, a picture flashed across my screen, and I quickly mashed the screenshot button, trying to catch it.

 

I went into my screenshots folder, and found today's date. There were 7 pictures. Only one of them actually caught the symbol. There was some sort of triangle-shaped thing. Surrounding the triangle were tons of symbols. Some I recognized, and some I didn't. I knew the I was going to need Dipper's help to figure this out.

 

** \- - -  Dipper Pines - - - **

 

** I was woken up at 6:30 sharp by my alarm, which I conveniently forgot to turn off. ** Mabel, unsurprisingly, slept through it. I went over, turned it off, and decided to go downstairs and make some coffee.

 

Early mornings were a bittersweet time for me. On one hand, I loved being the only one up and around. It allowed me to clear my mind, and gather my thoughts. On the other hand, I had to cut short my precious sleep time to experience the morning. I was torn.

 

Once my coffee was done, and I had dumped a bunch of sugar and creamer into it, I walked back into the living room, and flipped on the TV. I was about halfway through an episode of Duck-tective when the phone rang. I sighed, set down my coffee, and went to pick it up. “Hello?” I asked, groggily.

 

Pacifica giggled. “Hey, sleepyhead. Tired?” she asked. She laughed when I muttered an affirmative. “Anyway, Dipper, I need to talk to you,” she said.

 

“Pacifica, why did you call this early? What would you have done if someone else, or even, God forbid, Mabel, were to answer? She'd wonder why you were calling the Mystery shack at 6:45 A.M.,” I said.

 

Pacifica harrumphed. “I had it planned out. If someone that _wasn't_ you picked up, I would tell them that you left something at the manor and I needed to return it to you. That isn't entirely a lie, either. In your hast, for lack of a better word, to leave, you left your book thing.”

 

“M-my Journal?” I asked, astonished.

 

“If it's the one that has the weird hand thing, then yeah,” she said. I couldn't believe that I'd left my Journal. It was stupid of me to do so, but who's to say that it was a bad thing? It gave me a valid reason to hang out with Pacifica. N-not  that I wanted, or needed, a reason to hang out with her, or anything. It was just that since the opportunity arose, I was happy to take it.

 

“Okay, so, do you want me to meet you somewhere?” I asked.

 

“Yes, actually. The Journal was just I side point. I need to talk to you. In person,” she said. I was confused, and worried. What topic was so monumental that it needed to be talked about in person?

 

“Okay, fine,” I said, “Where do you want me to meet you?”

 

“Meet me in front of Greasy's Diner. From there, we'll take a little stroll through the woods,” she replied. Her answer did nothing to fill me in on the situation. In fact, I was even more confused.

 

“Okay, sure, I guess. Sounds fun. What time would I need to be there?” I asked.

 

“8 A.M. sharp.”

 

“See you then.”

 

* * *

I reached the Diner about 20 minutes early, so I walked inside and ordered some pancakes. They had just arrived when a Northwest limousine pulled up to the Diner. The heiress stepped out of the car as I was chowing on my second pancake. She was wearing roughly the same outfit she wore yesterday when she showed up at the Mystery Shack asking for my help.

 

“Hey, you actually showed up,” she joked. When she caught a whiff of my pancakes, she frowned. “You  _ had  _ to order pancakes?” she asked.

 

“Mmmmph,” was all I could manage through the pancakes. Pacifica laughed, and after I swallowed, I tried again. “As I was saying, I could say the same for you, well, about showing up. Not the pancakes part.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at my awkwardness. “Anyway, looks like you're just finishing up. What do you say we get going?” she asked.

 

I nodded as I shoved the last few bites of pancake in my mouth. “Gross,” she muttered.

 

Once my mouth was clear, I responded. “I heard that,” I teased. She ignored me.

 

After about 5 minutes of walking through the woods, we came upon a small clearing, and she stopped me. “Woah, did  _ you  _ find this?” I asked, incredulous.  The clearing was in a secluded part of the woods, just about a mile from the Mystery Shack, by my best guess. We were surrounded on all sides by dense forest, and it was surprisingly peaceful.

 

She nodded. “Yeah. I was mad at parents when I was 10 and ran into the woods. It was just chance that I found this place.”

 

“Is the story about how you found the secret room similar?” I asked, settling down on a log near the edge of the clearing.

 

Pacifica sat down next to me. I mean  _ next  _ to me, too. She was less than 6 inches from me. “Yeah, pretty similar. Anyway, to get back on topic,” she said, pulling out her phone. “I was Skyp e- ing my  friends last night after the party, and some weird stuff happened.”

 

“Like what?” I interrupted.

 

“If you'd let me finish, I'd tell you. So, they started asking me if everything was okay, since they said I was acting weird. They eventually 'deduced', if that's even the right word for their crappy detective skills, that I'd met a boy. So, I used that line you gave me. When they asked if there was a boy at the party, I said 'Yes, there were tons'. They asked for further info, and I told about the ghost and the whole fiasco.

 

“I was just thinking about how I hadn't really met a boy, similar to what you said, when one of them, Daniel, spoke up. He said that I had probably just know 'said boy' before the party. Kinda weird timing, you know? Oh, I was also thinking about you when he suggested that I met a boy. Kinda suspicious. So, after the others left for the night, and he and I were the only ones left, things got weird. He said some stuff about knowing many things, seeing many things, and creepy junk like that. Then, he told me to say 'hi' to you for him, and hung up.

 

Now, this is the  _ really _ weird part. When he hung up, a weird picture flashed across my screen. Don't worry, I managed to screenshot it,” she said, showing me her phone. I guessed that she'd just e-mailed it to herself. “I thought you might be able to help me figure out what's going on.”

 

Pacifica pulled the image up, and I was dumbstruck. “What? This  thing in the middle  is Bill! Pacifica, who is Daniel? I need details,  _ now _ !” I said.

 

“Woah, slow down there. Who's Bill?' she asked. I, again, was dumbstruck. How could she not know who Bill is?

 

“Bill! The evil triangle dream demon that tried to eradicate the town!” I said.

 

“What? I...I must've been gone for that. I don't remember it at all,” she said.

 

Finally, I realized why she didn't remember. “Oh, of course! Blind Eye! They must've erased everyone's memories of the whole event!” I paused, and took a closer look at the picture. “Wait, what're those symbols?” I asked.

 

“I was about to ask you that,” Pacifica said. “Some of them, I recognize, others, not so much,” she said, twirling a strand of my hair with her free hand.

 

“Hey, uh, would...would you stop that? It's distracting me,” I said, annoyed.

 

Pacifica gave me a blank stare. “Stop doing what?” she asked. When I motioned to her hand, she immediately pulled it back. “Oh, sorry, I do that to every guy I...” she trailed off.

 

“Every guy you what?” I asked.

 

“I-it's nothing. Let's get back on topic,” she said.

 

I eyed her suspiciously. “Okay, fine. However, we  _ will _ talk about whatever that was more after we finish talking about Bill,” I said. Pacifica looked around like a cornered animal. “Anyway, these symbols, from what I gather, represent a specific  person. The Pine Tree is me, I guess, based on my hat. That symbol right there? That's on Stan's fez. Probably him. That Star? Gideon. Some of these confuse me, though. Who's that llama? That Shooting Star? That bag of Ice? I have no idea. Maybe it's someone we haven't met.”

 

Pacifica nodded. “All of that makes sense. But what I want to know is what happened? It must have been pretty bad to get this kind of a reaction out of you,” she said.

 

“Well, here, this can explain it better than I can,” I said, pulling out the Journal she'd returned to me on the walk over. I flipped it to Bill's page, complete with me and Mabel's added information.

 

Pacifica skimmed it over. “Mind demon? Can't be real? Do not summon? Vaguely reminiscent of a Dorito? Oh, this looks like your writing here. Infiltrates the mind, changes and steals memories, can be summoned via a spell. You weren't stupid enough to list it, were you?” she asked. When I replied in the negative, she continued. “I don't remember this at all? Is there any more info on him?” she asked.

 

“He can steal bodies, as well. Remember that Sock Puppet Rock Opera that Mabel threw about a week-and-a-half ago?” I asked.

 

Pacifica nodded. “Yeah, I was there. What of it, besides it's lame ending?”

 

“Well, Bill showed up, trying to destroy the book you're holding. He stole my body, and my soul was trapped in a puppet for most of the night. That 'lame ending'? That was Mabel fighting Bill, who was in my body, over the Journal. When she defeated him, he left my body, and I reclaimed it.”

 

“Wow,” Pacifica said, “Makes that ending suck a lot less. Wait, does this mean that this Bill dude is possessing Daniel?” she asked.

 

I nodded. “Most likely. Pacifica, promise me this. Don't communicate with Daniel. He is  _ extremely _ dangerous at this point. I want you to you know, not die, and all.”

 

“Aww, you want me to not die! That's so sweet!” she said, and for once, I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

 

I laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

 

She frowned. “So, what do we do if Daniel, er, Bill, tries to communicate with me?” she asked.

 

I frowned as well. “We wait. Bill is up to something, he has to be. I for one, want to know what. I say that we lay low for a couple of days, and find out what's going on around here. If Bill is going to make an appearance, then we let him. Isn't much we could do to stop it, anyway.”

 

Pacifica  smiled. “Okay, yeah, that sounds good. Anyway, that's all I needed, see you later Dipper!” she said, trying to escape talking about what happened earlier.

 

“Oh, no. You're not leaving until we finish our talk. So, what exactly were you going to say earlier?” I asked.

 

She shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I was going to say...that I do that to all of my friends. Dipper, after what happened both at the golf course, and last night, I've started considering you a friend of mine. More true a friend than any of my others. It seems to me that you appreciate me for who I am, and care about my well-being, instead of just liking me for my money. I don't know if you're ready for that, though, after the way I treated both you and your sister."

 

"Pacifica, don't act like that. I'm not like that. I'm not going to hold a grudge, especially after how you turned everything around last night. You did the right thing and saved everyone's lives. I couldn't ask for a more heroic and likable thing. I have to ask, though. Was this whole thing a cover up just to ask me to be your friend?" I asked. "If so, that's kinda weird."

 

She nodded. “The thing with Bill? Totally real, but that was just a cover-up for the real reason that I wanted to see you. Yes, Dipper, I  _ do  _ want to be friends, but only if you feel the same way.”

 

I smiled. “Yeah, I feel the same way. Friends?” I asked, referencing our conversation last night.

 

Pacifica returned my smile. “Yeah,  friends ,” she said. 

I thought about the future, and what it would hold. Nothing good, I decided, but I knew that it would be awesome.

 

I would be proven correct, as well. Just you wait.

 


	3. A Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper uncovers a secret that even Bill wants to keep under wraps...

  **The Paradox Canon  
**

**Book 1: On Gilded Wings**

  **Act 1: Eccentricities**

**Chapter 3: A Flame**

 

* * *

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

 **Today was shaping up to be amazing.** I'd spent pretty much all of the day with Pacifica, going around and doing random 'errands', as she called them, with her. In reality, it consisted of me tagging along while she paraded from clothing store to clothing store in the mall, and looted them of their precious bounty. It blew my mind that Pacifica was able to go on shopping sprees like this, who knows how often. I shook my head as I realized just how rich the Northwests were.

 

At first, she'd been frugal, selecting a dress here, and a pair of shoes there, but after a while, she started embracing the word 'spree'. By the time we left the 6 th  store, I was carrying the upwards of 20 bags, all stuffed with clothes. This was going to be a long day.

 

“You know, Dipper, I really think that I'm going to like having you around as a friend,” she said. I sighed, seeing the hidden meaning behind her words.

 

“You say that as if I don't know what you really mean,” I replied nonchalantly, while simultaneously trying to hold up 50 pounds of clothing.

 

She blanched. “W-what do you mean?” she asked. It seemed like she was hiding something. I'd have to ask her about that later.

 

“Oh, come on, Pacifica. It's obvious that you want me around to help with stuff like this. Carrying you bags around, and stuff like that,” I answered. I looked around the mall, bored of the conversation already. At one point, I could have sworn I saw a redheaded girl that looked around our age, watching us from across the food court. It seemed like when she caught my gaze, she instantly backed away.

 

I silently noted that we might be being spied upon. By who, and for what purpose, remained a mystery. I was confused as to the identity of the girl though. I hadn't seen many redheads in Gravity Falls, and those I did were either adults or small children. There was seemingly no one my age.

 

Pacifica smirked nervously. “Come on, Dipper! Of course, I want you to help out sometimes with stuff like this, but I want you most of all, just because you're _you_.” During her speech, she had planted her hands on her hips in a snarky, slightly defensive, way. I guessed that Pacifica's underlying intentions were to slightly intimidate me, as was her wont. All it did however, was just make her that much more appealing, in a weird way.

 

I smirked back. “Thanks. I really appreciate that, Pacifica.” I said.

 

Compared to Pacifica's speech, my little two sentence quip was nothing. However, Pacifica seemed moved by it. She quickly closed the gap between us, throwing her arms around me. When she finally pulled away, she smiled again. “Aww, you always know just what to say!”

 

I quickly looked around. “I d-do?” I stuttered. It was kind of funny. I was able to handle myself just fine in the face of death and scary monsters, but simply being around Pacifica made me nervous. I wondered why that was.

 

Pacifica smirked defiantly. “You know it. Anyway, Dipper, what do you say we tackle one more store before calling it a day?” she asked. It seemed like she knew I wanted to leave, as she thrown in some puppy-dog eyes to sweeten the offer.

 

Two could play at that game, I decided. “You know, I really don't know. Those puppy-dog eyes seem enticing, and all, but I just don't know if they're worth it. Going through another store is a heavy burden,” I said in a slow, mocking tone.

 

Pacifica pouted. “Aww, come on, Dipper! I'll make it worth your while!” she said, adopting a more cheerful, upbeat tone.

 

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How do you plan to make it up to me?” I asked. What Pacifica didn't know, is that I had learned how to play this game _very_ well from years of living with Mabel.

 

“Oh, I don't know...I guess I could owe you a favor. Maybe go on one of your little adventures with you. Maybe even find a way to sneak out and spend some time with you later today,” she said. I had to admit, that offer was extremely alluring.

 

“Oh, what the heck. Why not?” I said, finally giving in, and letting Pacifica have her wish.

 

She smiled brightly, showing off her unnaturally white teeth. “Thank you so much!” she yelled, hugging me.

 

I smiled. “Yeah, whatever. Let's just get this over with,” I said, falling into the guise of being a bit irritated.

 

After we left the store, Pacifica turned to me. “This has been fun and all, Dipper, but we need to get going. I need to get back to the manor before my parents suspect anything. Remember how we don't want them to know about us being friends? Well, let's hope they can't put two and two together.”

 

I nodded. “Of course. I wouldn't give them the benefit of the doubt just yet, however. Unless there's something I'm missing about them, they don't seem like they can sniff out answers very well.”

 

Pacifica laughed. “Yeah, I guess so. Whatever you say, dork. Let's get going.”

 

As we left the mall, I looked back towards the food court, and saw the redhead again. She smirked at me, pretended to zip her mouth shut, and threw away the key. She knew. She knew about me and Pacifica. But who was she?

 

* * *

 

I had been jotting down notes on by bed in the attic when someone knocked on the attic door. I had been writing about the effect the phases of the moon had on the number and size of the mushrooms that grew in the forest, but sadly, duty called.

 

I got up, set my book down on my nightstand, and opened the door. Stan was standing before me clad in his Sunday best. A dirty, stained white sleeveless shirt, and his blue striped boxers. He even had his fez on. He was holding one hand behind his back. “Hey, what's up, Grunkle Stan?” I asked.

 

He sighed. “Kid, I've been thinking about this for a while now,” he said, “and I think that it's time that you have this. You have the 3 rd  one, right?” he asked, revealing the book he held behind his back, Journal 2.

 

“Woah, Grunkle Stan, where'd you get this? This is incredible!” I exclaimed. I was ecstatic. Finally, I had another volume of weirdness to go along with the third.

 

Stan looked around nervously. “Uh, that munchkin, Gideon had it. I found it in the shack when we reclaimed it.”

 

I nodded. He seemed suspicious, and this offer seemed too good to be true. “What's the catch?” I asked.

 

Stan raised an eyebrow at me. “Catch? There isn't one. Am I not allowed to give my Great Nephew a gift when I want to?” he asked. Again, it seemed suspicious.

 

I shook my head. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Grunkle Stan,” I said. He nodded, then handed me the book.

 

“You're welcome, kid. Take good care of it. It looks, you know, old, and fragile, and stuff,” he said, scratching his shoulder.

 

“Hey, do you know where the first one is?” I asked, hopeful.

 

Stan's expression changed to worry, like I had stumbled upon a subject that he was loathe to talk about. “Kid, if I knew where the first Journal was, why would I have...” he stopped himself mid-sentence, and thought for a second. “Dipper, I don't know where the first Journal is. I'm giving you the Journal that's whereabouts _are_ known to me, and by God are you going to be grateful for it. I'm going out of my way to do something nice for you, Dipper. Can't you just appreciate it?”

 

Whoa, did not see that outburst coming. Why was Stan suddenly on the defensive? “I do appreciate it, Grunkle Stan. I was only wondering if you had the first one. It was a logical conclusion since you had the second one, but-”

 

“Let me stop you right there, sport,” Stan said, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. “Yes, I will concede that it _was_ a logical conclusion, but you went about it all wrong. It may have been logical to ask that, but it wasn't moral. When you're given something, you don't just ask if they have another one for you. Anyway, enough with semantics. Enjoy the book, kid.”

 

I nodded politely. “Yes sir, I understand, and I will gladly and appreciatively accept your gift,” I said.

 

Stan smiled. “There we go. That's what I like to hear,” he said. He then gave me the Journal, and thought for a moment. “Hey, maybe you can uncover some kind of huge conspiracy, or something. Who knows, though? All I know is that you'll keep searching.”

 

I nodded, deciding to not pursue the subject. It would only lead to an argument that would go absolutely nowhere. “Thanks, Grunkle Stan!” I said.

 

Stan nodded. “Yeah, you're welcome, and all that junk. Take care, kid.” He then shut the attic door, leaving me alone with two Journals, and time to think.

 

I sighed, and plopped down onto my bed. I then opened up both of the books, and began to compare them, and the mannerisms of the author. Sentence construction, word choice, grammar, things like that. I was around 50 pages into Journal 2 when Mabel came through the attic door.

 

“Hey, Brobro!” she said, her voice wavering on the 'hey', almost like a vibrato.

 

“Oh hey, Mabel,” I said, pretending to take my attention off of the books.

 

“Haven't you read that Journal a million times already? Why read it again?” she asked, sounding exasperated.

 

Not taking my eyes off of the books for even a second, I showed her the cover of Journal 2.

 

Mabel harrumphed, and walked over, pausing where she could peek at the book's contents. “Where'd you get this, anyway?” she asked.

 

I glanced up. “Stan gave it to me,” I said, “he told me that he got it from Gideon right before the creep was arrested.”

 

Mabel gave me a strange look. “He just...gave it to you? Dipper, that doesn't seem right. You know Stan, he doesn't just 'give' people things. He has a reason for giving you the book, Dipper. I'm sure of it.”

 

I shrugged it off. “If there is an ulterior motive, then there's nothing we can do about it. But, we might as well study Journal 2 while we can.”

 

Mabel rolled her eyes, and flopped on her bed. I glanced over to see her hanging off of the bed, upside down. “While you're busy with nerd stuff, I'm gonna go have a super-fun-girl-time-chat with Candy and Grenda. See ya' later, Señor Poindexter,” she said, getting up to grab the phone from the TV room.

 

“Later, Mabes. Have fun talking about makeup and your teenage boyband celebrity crush of the week,” I sarcastically called out.

 

“Bwah, bwah,” was the response. I smiled, and focused on the Journal.

 

* * *

 

I finished reading the Journal, and glanced out the window. “Great, evening already,” I muttered to myself, scanning the room for a jumpscare-ready Mabel. When nothing came of my search, I slumped back onto my bed. Halfheartedly flipping through the pages, I noticed that I hadn't used the blackl-ight on the new Journal.

 

Reinvigorated by my discovery, I grabbed my handheld UV light, and quickly flipped through, scouting for pages with invisible ink. The invisible ink pages in Journal 2 were more few and farther between than the ones in Journal 3, but they were still there. I quickly glossed over tidbits about the mating habits of unicorns, and instructions for making an alchemical combustion chamber, before stumbling upon three blank pages. I was intrigued, I hadn't remembered these pages being here before.

 

I trained my UV light on the pages, and revealed some quickly scrawled handwriting:

 

**I've been pinned down. Bill, he knows that I'm at my wits' end. I've sent for Stan Pines, an old acquaintance (for lack of a better word), of mine, to help me finish my research. However, I fear that he will not arrive in time. Minnesota is a long way away, after all. So, I have a backup plan.**

 

**If I'm destined to be killed by a triangle, then I'm going out with a bang. I've done some research on the Heritage Artifact, and have located the seven pieces that make it up. Some are close to me, but others are farther away than my salvation. I'm down to my last ditch effort. If Stan doesn't make it, or, if I...we...fail, then the quest of destroying Bill, of righting my wrongs, falls to the person that finds my books.**

 

**Know these things about the artifact:**

 

**It has three purposes, each more useful than the others. It was originally intended as a benign device, created by the Aztecs, relive old memories. They, against all odds, succeeded in creating the device, but they accidentally imbued it with a second, more deadly, use, and a third, more benign use.**

 

**The device uses a radioactive material, Uranium, to alter the way synapses in the brain fire. The device hijacks the brainwaves of the affected individual(s), and forces the brain to bring past memories to the forefront. The memories can apparently be shared with others, as the device emits a second, Thorium wave buffer to elongate the distances that certain synapses fire at. This allows the memories to be shared between people, and allows them to communicate with each other inside the memory.**

 

**The Thorium radiation released can also act like an enormous gravitational pull, slowing down time in the general vicinity. The device can be modified in certain ways to slow or speed up time in greater efficiency and in greater amounts. Strangely enough, the gravitational pull seemingly doesn't affect the environment by actually pulling things toward it. It only has the time-stretching effect, and the fact that it can speed up time as well worries me. Gravity stretches time, so slowing time down by creating a massive gravitational pull makes sense, but speeding it up? Does the device make some kind of reverse gravitational pull?**

 

**Due to the device's ability to alter synapses, it can have an unintended side effect, if used right. It can alter the affected individual's brain in a lethal way, instantly and painlessly killing the person.**

 

 **The device should never be used haphazardly, especially without extreme forethought and planning as to the** _**exact** _ **intended use. That being said, the device was modified by ancient Romans to work based on certain Latin words. For the sake of safety and discretion, I will not list them here. Instead, they are easily available once the device has been reconstructed.**

 

 **This brings me to my next point. The device was separated into seven pieces under the authority of Augustus Caes** **a** **r, who deemed** **it unsafe. The pieces were individually moved to different locations around the world during different time periods. I will not provide the locations, but instead, hint at them. Hopefully, the puzzles will keep those unmotivated from finding it. Below are 7 keywords, relating directly to an entry in one of my three Journals. The entry associated will mentioned, or relate directly to a location, the location of the piece. The entries mentioned will be laced with Affine code, detailing in specifics the location, and how to access, the piece associated with that entry.**

 

 **Piece #1 | Keyword:** **CRYOGENIC** **| Affine Code: A** **7** **B** **9** **.**

 

**Piece #2 | Keyword: RUST | Affine Code: A1B17.**

 

**Piece #3 | Keyword: RADIO SILENCE | Affine Code: A3B7.**

 

**Piece #4 | Keyword: REPORTED MISSING | Affine Code: A21B9.**

 

**Piece #5 | Keyword: AINWORTH | Affine Code: A5B11.**

 

 **Piece #6 | Keyword:** **TOWERFALL** **| Affine Code: A** **7** **B** **9** **.**

 

**Piece #7 | Keyword: AEGIS | Affine Code: A1B17.**

 

 **Find the pieces. Stop Bill. Life as we know it** _**cannot** _ **continue while he is allowed to freely wreak havoc. I must go for now. My work is continued in my third Journal.**

 

 **I hear a knock at my door. My mind is either playing its dastardly tricks on me again, or Stan has arrived. May you** **who reads this** **be safe from all evil.**

 

**\- Sixer**

 

**Date - 6/18/1982**

 

I took a deep breath. That entry was going to take a while to process, but I did notice a couple things right off of the bat. This was the latest entry I've seen. I'm guessing that Stan Pines, Grunkle Stan, arrived, and something happened to the author. That would explain the mysterious disappearance of the author in Journal 3! Grunkle Stan had some explaining to do.

 

I thought about the artifact. It sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn't place the feeling of déjà vu. I only had to think about the decision for a split second before deciding that I needed to find and reconstruct the artifact. Preferably with Mabel's help.

 

I needed to assemble the Avengers.

 

**\- - - Pacifica Northwest - - -**

 

 **“Miss Pacifica, a phone call has been made for you!” Alfred, our butler, called up.** I was confused, I never got phone calls.

 

“Coming!” I yelled back, as I got up out of the chair at my desk. I practically jumped down the grand stairs, and landed hard on my right foot as I skipped the last 3 steps. I dashed over to Alfred, who was standing in the great room, hovering over the gold plated home phone, that was probably installed in 1970. It reeked of old people smell. Alfred gingerly handed me the receiver, and I held it up to my ear, asking “Hello?”

 

Dipper's voice cracked. “HeEey, Pacifica,” he said.

 

I couldn't help but chuckle. “Hey, dork. What's going on? I know you wouldn't call me for no reason.”

 

He harrumphed. “Can't a guy call his best friend just because?” he asked.

 

Pacifica decided to ignore my jump from 'friend' to 'best friend', a spot that was always reserved for Mabel. “I'm on a strict 'business calls only diet.”

 

“Oh, well, you're in luck. This is, technically, a business call.”

 

“Oh? What might, I pray, be the issue?”

 

“You owe me a favor, and I plan to take you up on it.”

 

“I do? What for?”

 

“I helped you with your problem at the party, and I helped you identify Daniel as being possessed. I charge by the hour, you know.”

 

I giggled. “Yeah sure, why not. Shoot, smart guy.”

 

“I found something big, and it's time to assemble the Avengers.”

 

“I'm important here, why? Other than being a Northwest, obviously.”

 

He took a deep breath. “Wow, bringing back your old days. Please don't. Anyway, you're an honorary member of the squad now.”

 

I smiled. “Sounds good. What'd you find?”

 

He cleared his throat, and paused for a bit. Too long for my liking. He started talking again, picking his words carefully. “Remember Bill? He's trying to destroy the world, and the only thing that can stop him is an old artifact Aztec artifact. It got separated into seven pieces, and scattered around the world. We need your help in the way of companionship, and a ride. Your family has like twelve private jets, right?”

 

I took a second to process what he said. “Yeah, I think I can work something out.”

 

“Good. Meet me at the Shack in an hour, if you can. I've got a bit more to explain.”

 

I raised an eyebrow. “I'll be there. This better be good, Dipper.”

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

 **Pacifica's limo pulled up to the Shack. The door opened, seemingly of its own accord, and the heiress delicately stepped out onto the not-pavement parking lot. I glanced at my watch-she was 17 minutes late.** “You're late, Pa-”

 

“Not a word, Bucko,” Pacifica said, clamping a hand over my mouth. After an uncomfortable amount of time, she released me. “So, what's the big deal?” she asked.

 

"Let's go to the attic. I'll explain there.

 

Mabel and Soos were waiting on us in the attic. Mabel was playing with a group of dust bunnies, and Soos had taken to attempting the impossible. He was trying to lick his elbow again. Mabel was the first to see us, and immediately snapped to attention. “Sir, permission to continue to mess with the dust bunnies, sir!” she said, half-asking, and half-stating.

 

I couldn't help but laugh. I knew how Mabel operated, and decided to play along. “No, we have serious business to attend to, Corporal Buttmuffin. Sergeant Underpants,” I said, looking at Soos, “You'll get it eventually.”

 

Pacifica gave me a slightly annoyed look, and I took the hint. “Okay, we have gathered here today for a very special reason,” I said. Mabel started cracking up. I didn't want to annoy Pacifica further-as fun as that would be-and change to a more serious tone. “Stan gave me Journal 2 earlier today. When I finished reading through it, I noticed that there were three blank pages at the end. So, I took out my black-light and found this entry, detailing the 'Heritage Artifact',” I said, making quotation marks with my fingers.

 

“This affects us, how?” Pacifica asked, slightly confused.

 

“The artifact is really useful to us in several ways. One of which, is the ability to defeat Bill, like I said over the phone. Second, the device allows the user, and others nearby, to relive past memories. Third, the device can slow down, or speed up time as needed.

 

“The author has given us hidden clues as to the locations for each piece. The first keyword is 'CRYOGENIC', and I've pinpointed that to an entry in Journal 3. More specifically, the entry on the secret bunker. Using his own way of finding hidden codes, I've located the Affine code in this entry:

 

**Mgl snyfm knlxl nf idxjmle nw pv flxylm qtwbly.  
Nm nf jpdwz pv dmgly wdw-flwmnlwm dqulxmf. **

 

“Which, using the key A7B9, decodes to:

 

**The first piece is located in my secret bunker.  
It is among my other non-sentient objects.**

 

“So helpful, huh?” I said, slightly annoyed at such a vague hint.

 

Mabel flipped her hair over her face. “When do we get to the part with the epic romance?” she asked. Pacifica blushed, for some reason, and I just raised an eyebrow.

 

“What romance, Mabel?” I asked.

 

“You know, every adventure has some romance in it! You know what I mean, right, Soos?”

 

Soos nodded, and rested a hand on his chin. “Yes, it would seem that way. But who exactly the romance happens to is a mystery. A mystery, that like the infinite horizon, eludes our grasp.”

 

Pacifica gave him a questioning look, and I had to laugh. “Poetic as always, Soos. Anyway, who's in?” I asked.

 

Mabel was up in a heartbeat. “Ooh, pick me!”

 

Pacifica smiled. “Sure, why not.”

 

Soos followed their lead. “I got nothin' better to do. When do we leave, doods?” he asked.

 

“Ah, the important part. Pacifica, details on transportation?” I asked, turning to face her.

 

The heiress looked down. “I haven't exactly asked my dad yet. I'll get on it, and I'll have an answer for you tonight. I'll call you.”

 

I nodded, and turned back to Mabel. “Okay, that'll have to do. The first piece is in the bunker, and we'll set out as soon as possible. Afterwards, we can regroup here, and wait until we're okay'ed for the jet.”

 

“Why don't we just leave now, dood?” asked Soos. “Seems as good a time as any.”

 

“I don't exactly know what will happen down there, or how long we'll be gone, so I need to prepare. Also, Pacifica needs to be back at the manor before she's missed by her parents,” I replied, nodding to Pacifica.

 

She nodded back, and pulled out her phone, presumably to call for Alfred to come pick her up. “Any questions?” I asked.

 

Mabel raised a hand. “How will we use the artifact-thingy once we get it? Who gets to keep it?” she asked.

 

I rubbed my chin, almost subconsciously. “I guess we'll try to be as fair as possible in use. But, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We need to focus on securing the pieces first.”

 

Mabel nodded in response, and the meeting adjourned. Mabel and Soos went to go catch an episode of Tiger Fist, and I went to see Pacifica off. When the limo pulled up, she turned and hugged me. “Hey, see you around,” she said with a smile.

 

I awkwardly smiled back. “Yeah, sure. Bye, Paz,” I said.

 

She eyed me disapprovingly. “Paz? We need to work on your nicknaming skills,” she said before turning to leave. “Bye, dork!” she called, running to meet the limo.

 

I smiled. Almost silently, I said, “Bye, beautiful.”

 

**\- - - Pacifica Northwest - - -**

 

 **I was mid cello practice when my** **father** **walked into the great room.** “Sounds good, darling! The tempo seems a bit fast, though, slow it down a bit. Is your arm supposed to be bent like that?” he asked.

 

I sighed. Every time I took interest in something, he always criticized me in every way possible. I had always chalked it up to him wanting me to be perfect in every aspect of life, but I wasn't sure. “Yes, father,” I said, correcting the angle my elbow was bent at. I was practicing Bach's Cello Suite No.1, at the request of my mother, but I struggled. The song was hard to learn, and hard to preform. I had seen others pull it off flawlessly, but they had more years of practice than I'd been alive.

 

People gloss over musicians. People don't realize the amount of effort it takes to fully grasp a song, or even just an instrument in general. They see musicians preform nigh impossible feats of dexterity and precision and mark it off as normal. I sighed. Skill would come with time.

 

My father glanced down at the newspaper he was holding, curled it into a cylinder, then tapped it on his open palm. I shivered slightly. I knew what the price for failure was.

 

* * *

 

I sipped my tea, and glanced at my watch: 6:30. I sat in the dining room across from my father. My mother sat carefully next to him. “So, Pacifica, how is your cello coming along?” she asked.

 

“Well. I finally got the fingering down on the arpeggios. Now I can move on to try and perfect my vibrato and-”

 

“Yes, very good, dear,” my father said. “Emily, what did you say Atnón was cooking tonight?”

 

“Snow crab bisque, darling. He said he would serve it with roquefort cheese and some french bread.”

 

“Very good, indeed.”

 

I looked around nervously, and unfortunately, my mother noticed. “Pacifica, darling, you seem upset. Is something the matter?” she asked.

 

“Well, I...I just had something to ask you.”

 

My father briefly glanced up from his newspaper. I'd caught his attention.

 

“I, well, my favorite artist is touring. My friends and I were wanting to go see them, and were wondering if maybe, we could use one of our jets,” I said, hardly containing a cringe.

 

My mother smiled. For once, it seemed genuine. I had no idea what was special about the current situation, but she was genuinely smiling. It wasn't some forced display, just to not offend some rich person from God-knows-where. “It's fine by me if you don't mind, Preston,” she said.

 

My father eyed me suspiciously. “What band?” he asked.

 

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap. I hadn't thought of anything, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “Nuclear kid.”

 

My father didn't flinch. “I've never heard of them. What kind of music do they play?”

 

I had to stick with it, in case he decided to look them up later. “Alternative. It's like Pop music, but less stupid.”

 

My mother smiled, actually showing a sense of humor for once. My father waved his left hand. “So it shall be.”

 

“Thank you so much! I love you, father!” I exclaimed. He grimaced, and it hit me like a blow from a newspaper, or, whatever object happened to be in his hand. I sunk back into my chair, and perked up a bit when Antón brought out dinner. After finishing rather quickly, my father got up to leave. At the door, he turned to face me, frowned, and walked out. I couldn't wait to get out of the house for a while. Touring with Dipper and Mabel sounded great, but a chance to step away from my parents sounded better.

 

I just wanted to let go.


	4. Experiment 319 (Part 1 - Bumps In The Night)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Pacifica travel to the Author's bunker in search of the first piece of the Artifact...

**The Paradox Canon**

**Book 1: On Gilded Wings**

**Act 1: Eccentricities**

**Chapter 4: Experiment 319**

**Part 1: Bumps in the Night**

 

* * *

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**I tossed and turned, desperately trying to get some sleep.** Heck, I had potentially life-threatening dangers to face in the morning. But, if you're me, sleep doesn't come to you easily. I yawned, and glanced over at the sleeping form of my twin sister. For a fleeting moment, I envied her, but the feeling vanished as swiftly as it had come. It was childish to act like that, and it wouldn't help anyone to be bitter over inconsequential things.

 

I  sat up , and rubbed my tired, sleep deprived eyes. My summer had been  amazing so far, so why was I so sad? I slumped back down onto my pillow and saw the calendar hanging above my bed.  July 10 th . We only had about a month-and-a-half left before  Mabel and I went back to our boring, normal lives in Piedmont.  Then, everything that happened here would be just memories – memories we couldn't even share, for fear of being called crazy. We weren't likely to see Soos, Stan, Wendy, or...Pacifica, for a whole school year, and well, that disheartened me, to say the least.

 

I sighed. “I don't ever wanna leave Gravity Falls...”

 

“You okay, broseph?” yawned Mabel as she sat up.

 

I instantly sobered up. I sometimes let my emotions get out of check when I was alone, but I couldn't let myself get out of hand when someone else was there. It was my fatal flaw, so to speak. “Oh, uh, nothing. Everything's fine.”

 

Mabel frowned. “Don't get like this again, Dipper. I know something's wrong.”

 

I took a deep breath. “I...I just don't want to leave Gravity Falls. That's all. I was thinking about how life back home would be.”

 

Mabel raised an eyebrow. “It'd be just the same as always, Dipper! You know that! I'll always be here for you.”

 

I smirked. “That's what I'm afraid of.”

 

Mabel giggled, then took on a deadpan stare. “You better be scared. You never know when I'll decide you need a surprise makeover.”

 

Bad memories flooded back like backed-up sewage. “Please don't remind me of that possibility.”

 

Mabel laughed. “That's what sisters are here for, Dipper! To provide  _ constant  _ fear of surprise makeovers!”

 

I huffed.

 

Mabel got up off of her bed, and sat next to me, throwing her arms around me. “You sure that you're fine?”

 

I nodded. “Yeah. 'Course. Hard to not be with you around, Mabel.”

 

“ Dipper, I'm having the same worries you're having. My first thought is to just tell every back home what all happened, but they won't believe us, will they?”

 

I shook my head. “I don't think so. Would you have believed it?”

 

Mabel smiled. “Not until about a month ago.”

 

“Same here.”

 

Mabel leaned back and fell into my bed, staring at the ceiling. “What did you say this artifact does, Dipper?”

 

“Nothing that really concerns us, really. It'd be best to just hand it over to a museum or something when we get it.”

 

Mabel gave me a slightly annoyed look. “Not what I asked, bro-bro. What does it do?”

 

“It can kill someone but has a cool-down period. Like I said, not for us.”

 

“No, I remember you saying there were three uses, Dipper.”

 

Yep, there it was. I was trying to keep Mabel from putting 2 and 2 together. She'd go crazy thinking of possibilities. I was trying to save it for after we actually had the artifact. “It can also allow people to share memories with each other, and relive them. It can also slow down or speed up time as necessary.”

 

Mabel squealed, a sound I normally associated with Waddles, and sat up. “So many possibilities!” She was silent for a second. “Dipper, do you know what this means?!”

 

“What?”

 

“We can use it to extend summer! Summer doesn't have to end!”

 

“Mabel, I don't think-”

 

“This is  the greatest plan!”

 

“Mabel, I-”

 

“No plan could ever top this!”

 

“Mabel, calm down, I-”

 

An explosion rang out in the night.

 

Instantly, Mabel and I were both up. Within seconds, we were dressed normally and downstairs. Stepping outside, I could see tons of smoke rising from the forest, about a mile from the Shack – in the direction of the bunker. We needed to get over there, now.

 

“Mabel, go back inside and call Soos from the  living room phone. I'll call Pacifica from the  gift shop , and we can be over there in 30 minutes. C'mon!” I called. Mabel nodded, and shot inside. I followed and met Stan in the  shop .

 

“Hey, kid, what's all the fuss about?” he asked, subconsciously scratching places that shouldn't be scratched in public.

 

I cringed. “The author's bunker exploded! We're heading out there with Soos and Pacifica to check it out.”

 

Stan raised an eyebrow, not fully awake yet. I doubt he understood a word I said. “Fine by me.”

 

“ Okay, see you later. I have a call to make.”

 

Stan yawned, and sauntered back off to bed.

 

I quickly grabbed the phone off of the gift shop counter, and punched in Pacifica's cell number. After a dreadful second, in which I thought she wasn't going to answer, she picked up. The heiress yawned before groggily acknowledging my existence. “Dipper, what time is it?”

 

I checked my watch. “Pacifica, it's 11.”

 

“That's so late, Dipper! My parents would kill me if they found out I was up so late.”

 

“I thought you stayed up until 4:30 talking to your friends after the party.”

 

“That's besides the point.”

 

“Pacifica, the bunker exploded. We need to leave, ASAP.”

 

She groaned. “Dipper,” she said, slurring my name like an annoyed 4-year-old, “I'm tired!”

 

I yawned sarcastically. “So am I.”

 

“Fine. Be there in 15,” she grumbled. The line went dead with a click, and I hastily replaced the receiver on the counter.

 

I turned to leave, but glanced back at the phone. I had one more call to make.

 

**\- - - Mabel Pines - - -**

 

**Soos and Pacifica arrived in record time. I glanced back at the shack, but Dipper was still on the phone.** Soos hopped out of his truck, and  walked over, while Pacifica was still climbing out of the limo.  He looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. Apt, I decided. His normal green t-shirt was hastily thrown on – I noticed that it was inside out – and his hair was disheveled under his baseball cap.  He was wearing a beige backpack I'd never seen before.  He rubbed his eyes. “Ah, Hambone, I don't know if I'm going to make it.  The not-sleeping...it's like, messing with my head. Making me tired or some junk.”  he said, as philosophical as always.

 

I squinted  sarcastically . “I know exactly what you mean, Soos.”

 

Pacifica finally walked up, and smiled.  My jaw dropped. Even after being dragged out of bed at 11:30, she was flawless in appearance. Perfect makeup, perfect hair, perfectly fitting outdoors wear – the works.  “Hey, guys,” she said.  Even though she was immaculate in appearance,  I wasn't sure if she was entirely awake, or just in auto-pilot for the time being. “Where's Dipper?”

 

With Deus-ex-Pacifica timing, Dipper stepped out of the Shack,  wearing his normal attire. He'd taken time to wash his clothes and shower earlier, and I wondered at the significance of it. “ Sorry guys.”

 

I eyed him suspiciously. “What was that all about?” I asked.

 

He shrugged. “Insurance,” he said, winking at Pacifica, who gave him a weird look, and nodded. “Anyway,” he said, changing the subject, “I don't know if you're aware of it, but a huge explosion went off in the forest about 30 minutes ago. Mabel and I think it's from the bunker, and that's  why we called you.”

 

“So, we're going after the piece?” he asked.

 

Dipper nodded. “Yeah. I know it's late, but if that  was the bunker that exploded, this might be our only chance to get the piece.”

 

“ Sounds good. I have a question, though. Are we going in blind, or do you have any idea where to look?” Pacifica asked.

 

“I know where it is. I don't, however, know where to look for the place that it's located.”

 

Pacifica maintained a deadpan expression. “Y ou couldn't have been more cryptic if you'd tried.”

 

Dipper nodded. “Believe me, I try.”

 

“ Anyway,” I said, again changing the subject. “We should get moving.”

 

“Yeah, let's get going dudes,” Soos said.

 

Dipper eyed the forest carefully. “Agreed. Sooner we leave, sooner we get back.”

 

* * *

Dipper effortlessly led the way through the forest. By this point, he  knew  it like the back of his hand.  Within 10 minutes, we were standing in front of the fake tree that marked the entrance to the bunker.  Dipper stopped and surveyed the lever, and I stopped. I couldn't remember how we got into the bunker the first time. Had Dipper found a way to do it? Soos and I sure didn't. As far as I knew there was no one else besides us, so...

 

“Mabel, did you bring your grappling hook?” he asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

 

“Yeah, I got it,” I said, reaching for my back pocket. I handed it to him, and watched as he launched it at the lever. The hook bounced gracefully off of the lever, shifting it upward with a hard  _ thunk  _ noise.

 

“Okay, get back, guys!” Dipper warned. The ground then started to violently rumble, and the tree glowed with strange purple symbols em bossed into the trunk. I vaguely recalled the same symbols being in Dipper's Journal. The tree turned in clockwise circles, slowly into the ground. The ground around the tree slid backwards, revealing a pit about 15 feet in diameter, and about 75 feet deep.

 

Pacifica, who I remembered had never seen the bunker, was in awe. She watched on in wonder as long, thin wooden planks, plated in iron sulfate on the ends, shifted out of the tree trunks, making stairs. The ground shook one last time as the trunk came to a halt. The purple symbols slowly fading away, plunging us back into the darkness of the forest until Dipper pulled out some flashlights. He passed them out to all of us, and soon the forest was at least dimly lit.

 

Pacifica took a deep breath. “Whoa, that...that was pretty cool,” she said.

 

Dipper smiled. “You ain't seen 'nuthin yet, Pacifica.”

 

Pacifica laughed, and I had to at least chuckle at Dipper's horrible attempt at an accent.

 

Dipper peered over the edge, down at the pit, and then back up at us. “We need to stop wasting time. We have no idea what awaits us down there, and the sooner we get going, the sooner we can get back.”

 

Pacifica, Soos, and I reluctantly agreed, and we followed Dipper down the wooden stairs, descending into darkness.

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**Everything was how we left it. Which was strange, considering the place had exploded not an hour ago.** The layout of the place was the same, obviously. It wasn't the Daedalian Labyrinth. But, it seemed some things were changed. Very recently, in fact. Certain objects had been picked up and moved, certain machines had been turned on for seemingly no reason, and the bunker had a more ominous feeling about it this time around.

 

Mabel paused when we reached the control room, staring at the monitors. “Dipper...look.”

 

I followed her gaze. The entire cryogenic storage module had violently exploded, shredding solid metal and setting all of the experiments free. “I know you don't want to, Mabel, but we have to g o in there. We have to preform damage control.”

 

Mabel looked down, and nodded. Pacifica gave me a confused look. “What's so bad about this place, Dipper?” she asked, looking between the different monitors.

 

“This place, as in, the place on the monitors, was where the author kept all of the most dangerous experiments. When he deemed it too dangerous to be allowed freedom, he would freeze it in case of future need. But, the cryogenic storage module exploded. Anything in those tubes that wasn't killed by the blast is free to roam the bunker now. Or, at least free to roam the lower section. We're a floor above the other sections. That door over there,” I pointed to the decontamination chamber, “that's an elevator.”

 

Pacifica. “Makes sense. But what did the author have down here that was so bad?” she asked.

 

“The only thing we know of for certain is Experiment 210. The shapeshifter,”  I said, pointing to a drawing of 210's true form, hanging up on the wall. I began messing about on the console, trying to figure out where the non-sentient containment room was. An answer wasn't exactly forthcoming.

 

Soos walked in wearing a beige lab coat. “Hey dood, check it out. This coat has the author's symbol on it.” He showed me the sleeves, which had a small six-fingered-hand design right a b o v e where the hands would be. 

 

“ Awesome! Can it shoot lasers?” Mabel asked.

 

Soos shrugged. “I don't know. I hope it does, though. I'll try pushing random buttons and hope it doesn't explode!”

 

Pacifica managed a smile at Soos and Mabel's antics.

 

I tapped into the main console, trying to find a way to open the elevator. Mabel said that it had just opened on its own last time, but I knew it wouldn't happen like that again. I clicked around for a bit before stumbling on security_sys_maintenance.exe and security_grid_settings.ini. I tried the .ini file and was greeted with nothing but jumbles of code. Even worse, in a language I couldn't understand. It looked like either Basic or FORTRAN.

I tried the other file and was greeted with a 3D map of the bunker, showing off all of the security features. I now knew what the layout of the bunker was like. It was a four level building, starting with a backwards-c-shaped layout of rooms leading to the control room. I guessed them to be the entrance, and the symbol trap room. Beyond the control room was the tunnel array, and the elevators beyond. It looked like we'd have to dig through the depths to find the piece. It appeared as if the top level was for observation of the other levels. There were security cameras _everywhere_ just in case a breakout happened. There were elevators scattered around the facility, all marked with greek letters. I learned that the elevator closest to us was Elevator-Theta. I clicked back onto the other file, and began to search for anything regarding the elevators.

 

I typed:

 

elevator.

 

Autocomplete didn't help.

 

Theta.

 

Same old song and dance. I tried just using Ctrl + F, and lo and behold, it pulled up the elevator security class.  I quickly read through the list and found something interesting. Apparently, the bunker's operating system had detected the explosion and had automatically set all of the elevators and doors to LOCKDOWN. Reading through the documentation, there were three states. There were UNSECURE, NORMAL, and LOCKDOWN. LOCKDOWN meant that nothing was allowed in or out of  any door in the entire bunker. NORMAL meant, well, normal, and UNSECURE meant the doors would let anything and everything through.

 

Just to be safe, I ran a console command to set the values to NORMAL. The elevator dinged and a synthetic voice said, “Elevator Theta is now operational. Proceed to Level 2 at your own risk.”

 

I waved everyone over. “Here, this decontamination chamber will take us down to the main floor.” Everyone nodded and we stepped inside. I pulled the cord hanging from the ceiling, and the decontamination process ensued. We were shaken up a bit by the steam and other gasses being sprayed onto us, but the last burst was the worst. Mabel got hit in the back, and flew into Soos, whom she just bounced off of. She went flying back and jarred her head against the back wall,  and Soos fell backwards and hit his head. The last burst  of gasses hit me as the door opened. I flew forward and went barreling into Pacifica, who was sucked in as well. We skidded along the cave floor, and ended up in one of those cheesy landing positions that you only see in bad anime shows. Pacifica and I both blushed,  slowly  got up, and dusted ourselves off.

 

“Hey, you okay?” she asked.  She was noticably blushing.

 

I nodded sheepishly, my cheeks burning with the fire of a thousand suns.  “Yeah, I'm fine. You?”

 

Pacifica looked down, probably to hide her  cheeks . “Yeah, me too.”

 

Back at the elevator, Soos and Mabel were just starting to get up. Mabel rubbed her head. “Ugh, what year is it? Have motorized, human-sized hamster balls been invented yet?”

 

Soos shook his head in an attempt to shoo away the woozy feeling. “I don't know, dude. Hopefully.”

 

Paying them no attention, I clicked my flashlight. A bright shaft of off-white light filled the modified cavern. Nothing out of the ordinary yet.  I gestured towards the tunnel to the right. The one marked 'C _ ryogenic Containment Module _ '. “Come on, let's get this over with!” I called.

 

Mabel groaned, rubbing her head. “Yeah, just gimme a second to recollect myself. I feel like I just fell down a flight of stairs,” she said, wobbling her way over to me. Soos wasn't doing much better.  When they had finally managed to clear away the wooziness, we set off towards the cryogenic module. 

 

Turns out, it was a short hallway. We'd only been walking for about 30 seconds when we reached the doorway. Then, we realized the door was missing.  The doorframe was shredded and charred remnants of metal littered the ground around it. We cautiously stepped into the room, and saw the true  damage the explosion wrought. 

 

The whole room was a disarray of metal and glass, and even now small fires burned all over the place. The containment capsules were absolutely destroyed. There was no hope of recapturing anything in them. A chill came over me as I wondered how we were going to capture 210. I shivered.

 

“Woah, there's nothing left!” Mabel said, gaping at the desruction lain out before her.

 

Pacifica nodded. “I wonder what happened? There wasn't just a random explosion, was there?”

 

“ No, there couldn't have been. Someone, or something, must've set it off on purpose. We need to go scout around. There's no telling what's out there now,” glancing warily back at the hallway.

 

We quickly set off, and halfway back down the hallway, I noticed Soos had fallen behind. “Hey, what's wrong, Soos?” I asked, slowing my pace down to meet up with him.

 

“Oh, just a bit tired, ya' know? It's hard running lat at night,” he said. His voice sounded a bit off...

 

“Hey, Dipper, where'd you go?” called Mabel. Pacifica chimed in as well.

 

I turned to Soos. “We'd better get going. We don't want them missing us.”

 

“Nope!”

 

Soos and I ran back down the hallway to see Mabel, Pacifica, and...Soos. They were fanned out across the room, checking out the all of the cool stuff the author had. I sighed as I realized my mistake. I turned around slowly...to see not-Soos transform in a giant praying mantis monster. “Run! Go!” I said, already sprinting towards the other hallway.  Mabel, Pacifica, and Soos all whipped around to see me running from 210. Instantly, the three of them were tailing me as I ran through the tunnels of the bunker. 

 

I heard the monster screech, and chanced a look over my shoulder. Nothing...yet. I turned my gaze forward again, and almost ran straight into a wall. We seemed to be standing in front of a blast shelter. Without hesitation, I began to undo the locks. This was our only chance to evade 210. With a heavy  _ clunk _ , the lock gave way, and I swung the heavy door open. We all quickly stepped inside, and I locked the door behind us.

 

I heard a muffled screech, and the shelter shook with the sound of tearing metal. The creature was using its scythes to hack away at the shelter. I figured we had about 3 swipes – 30 seconds – before the door gave away. I frantically looked around the room, and noticed a second, slightly smaller door.

 

“ Over here!” I called to the others, motioning to the other door. They got the memo, and ran over. It took all of our combined strength to turn the iron lock, but the lock finally shifted with a heavy  _ clunk _ . I pulled the door open, and ushered everyone out of the shelter. Once everyone else was out, I stepped out, and pulled the door shut. The lock clicked shut, and I heard the first door  falling inward as I was running. The others had rounded a corner, so I had no visual contact with them, but I heard everything that was going on.

 

Mabel and Pacifica screamed, and I heard another voice. Deep, gruff, and unwelcoming. “Calm down. I mean you no harm. In this place, screaming will only make your death come more quickly.”

 

Confused, I rounded the corner to see the others standing next to a tall man wearing full body armor made of some kind of foreign metal. It wasn't shiny, had all of the properties of metal, yet it gave way under his touch, allowing him to operate the suit's systems. His entire body, bar his eyes, was covered. His eyes were a piercing,  stormy gray color.

 

He looked up at me, then back at the others. “I guess I should introduce myself. I am Experiment 319. I am a clone of the author, the one you know as 'Sixer'. You may call me Sixer, or 319.”

 

I narrowed my eyes. “Did you set off the explosion earlier?” I asked.

 

He shifted uncomfortably. “I was trying to make a fluorosufuric acid, and mixed it in the wrong quantities. That whole section of the bunker went up in flames.” 210 shrieked from nearby, and 319 instantly chan g ed demeanor. “We have to leave,  _ now _ . Follow me if you want to live.”

 

\- - - **Soos Ramirez - - -**

 

 **The new guy sure knew how to handle a crisis.** We were steadily making our way around the bunker towards the secondary containment module. 319 was helping us lead 210 to the new module, but we had tons of close call. Meanwhile, I was barely containing a freak out. The creature was using some new forms, and it was a ton scarier than last time. Like, when it first saw 319, it turned into a human-sized-and-shaped alien looking thing with huge foot long claws on each hand. To try to intimidate us, it would make an ungodly scream, sounding kind of like when Dipper would come across a cockroach.

 

“Come on, don't stop now!” 319 called, waving the way through a laboratory module. This one in particular had two exits, one on either side of a huge stone protrusion lining the far wall. 319 and the others were leaving out the left door. I ran after them, but I slipped on a test tube that was laying on the floor. I immediately shook it off, but when I got up, the others were gone, and I couldn't remember what door they had left through.

 

I heard the beast making ominous clicking noises in the hallway behind me, so I went through the right-hand door and prayed for the best.

 

The room I ended up in was some sort of genetic modification room. An electron microscope graced the table on the far wall. A huge, glowing tube was next to me. It was filled with a blue-ish looking liquid, and a beast that I didn't recognize from anything Dipper or 319 had said was inside it. It was like a huge lizard, but I couldn't discern more than that. I proceeded to the next room, noting the lab coat next to the tube.

 

The room I had entered was some sort of chemical storage room. Huge floor-to-ceiling freezers lined the walls, and when I chanced opening one, it was near full of boxes marked:

 

_100% Pure O_ _2_ _(l)_

_Do NOT open box_

_in unsuitable_

_conditions._

_Property of Sixer._

 

Hoping for the best, I grabbed two boxes. I sprinted out of the room after opening one box inside the room. I heard the beast enter the room and shriek when it came in contact with the immensely cold liquid. This next room I was in seemed to be the entrance to a mine of some kind. A sign hanging from the ceiling pointed towards a door on the opposite wall:

 

_Coal and Iron Ore (Fe_ _2_ _O_ _3_ _) Storage_

 

My mind flashed back to high school chemistry,  and that one science tv-show, Mythbreakers . I looked down at the box I was holding.  _Perfect_ . I grabbed one of the gas masks on the left-hand wall and entered the next room. This was going to be fun.

 

“ Time for a repair-guy...to become a repair man.”

 

* * *

I could hear my own breathing, simultaneously muffled and amplified. The feeling was surreal. I glanced around the room and saw what I was hoping for. There were stacks upon stacks of boxes labeled either  _ Coal  _ or  _ Iron Ore _ . There was a pipe containing more liquid oxygen on the left, and a huge smelter on the right. I set to work. 

 

First, I grabbed a box of iron ore, and put as much of it in the furnace as I could.  I lit the furnace using some of the coal, and used the bellows to heat things up.  There was a big, thin sheet of tungsten  propped up against the smelter, and I fastened it over the entrance of the furnace to restrict the airflow. My goal was for the combustion to be incomplete. I wanted Carbon Monoxide. Good thing I had a gas mask.

 

The beast was still trapped by the liquid oxygen, but would be free any minute, so waiting on the furnace was excruciating. After about 8 minutes, I figured I was pushing it. I unfastened the tungsten plate, and ran over to the liquid oxygen pipe. I had one shot at this. I cut the pipe. Liquid oxygen spilled everywhere, and the room dropped in temperature insanely fast. I opened box after box of coal, spilling it onto the floor, into the liquid oxygen. Then, I took the container of liquid oxygen I had with me, and dumped it onto the coal.

 

I had a carbon-based substance coated with liquid oxygen. I had an excess of flammable gas in the air. I had a matchbox in my backpack. I had one shot at this. I shivered, partly from the cold, and partly because I'd just heard 210 shriek as it freed itself from the trap I'd set in the other room. I heard another, closer shriek, and I bolted for the opposite door. Once on the other side, I lit a match. Due to the Carbon Monoxide, it burned especially bright.

 

Once I heard the other door open, and stuck just my forearm back into the storage room, and threw the lit match.

 

I then got the he ck out of Dodge.

 

I could feel the explosion before I saw or even heard it. It felt like a warm breeze after the cold of the liquid oxygen had left me. I heard a sound like steel shredding, and I realized that it was 210 being incinerated.

 

I kept running.

 

The explosion took me from behind, and the blast lifted me up into the air. It carried me through the next automatically-opening doorway as if I was a balloon adrift in the wind. Finally, after a high-point of what seemed to be a lifetime in length, I hit the ground. Hard. I landed on my right arm and bruised it up quite a bit. I was sent rolling across the room, and I came to a stop in front of a half-amazed, half-confused Dipper.

 

“Soos, what happened?” he asked.

 

“Dood, that was the most awesome thing I've ever done,” I said, struggling to stand up. I checked myself for any serious injuries, but all I found was burns from the explosion. I could live with that.

 

I looked around the room to see that we were in the  landing bay. The author's bunker was built in three layers underground, but it was huge. One side - this side – stuck out of the side of a valley, although concealed extremely well, as 319 had told us. He had said that the secondary containment module was extremely close to the landing bay. Mabel, Pacifica, and 319 were actually just up ahead at the door.

 

They all asked me the same question Dipper had. I told them I blew up the beast. They were shocked. We were all shocked, however, when 210 – in the same form, mind you – came through the door I had. It was limping and stumbling. Most of its skin had burned away, revealing plain muscle and sinew covered in huge swaths of burned tissue. It looked like a pulsating, living piece of volcanic rock, and it was coming straight for us.

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**210 made sound akin to if a banshee could roar as well as shriek.** It was like a half-groan, half-shriek, and caverns shook in response. “Go!” 319 shouted, and we all turned and ran. I almost tripped as we entered what looked like a vehicle storage area. I quickly glanced around to see lots of different kinds of cars, what looked like motorcycles, and even a few experimental hovercraft.

 

“Hey, think we could use these to get around?” Mabel asked.

 

“No,” I said. “Pacifica's jet is our best chance. These look strange, and would likely be shot down by any self-respecting military operation.”

 

“He's got a point, Mabel,” 319 said, almost to the other side of the room.

 

Mabel pouted, and Pacifica tried to cheer her up. “Hey, my jet's pretty cool, you know. It has TV's and stuff. Maybe we could watch 'High School Dream Academy Romance Story 7' on our way to the next place.”

 

Mabel cheered up a bit, her normal warm, inviting smile shining through. “Sounds great! Is 7 the one with...”

 

Pacifica nodded. “The one where Lerard has to fight aliens to prove his love for Hannathan.”

 

I gave Pacifica a look. “What kind of character names are those?”

 

She shrugged. “Japan for you.”

 

I, unfortunately, knew exactly what she was talking about.  We heard the same roar/shriek sound, and I glanced over my shoulder to see 210, now struggling to even walk. “Just a bit farther!” 319 called. He was right, now we were only about 30 feet from the next room. 

 

I noticed Soos hadn't said anything in a while. I adjusted my pace to end up next to him. “Hey, Soos, what's wrong. You haven't said much of anything since you rolled into the landing bay.”

 

He forced a smile, and slightly cradled his left arm. “Hurt my arm in the fall. Hurts a good bit.”

 

I eyed his arm carefully. “You want to get 319 to look at it?”

 

Soos shook his head. “No, but thanks, though, dude.”

 

We entered the next room, which was indeed the Secondary Containment Module. 319 waved us around, and we got into positions. He tossed me a airblaster. I looked directly across from where I was standing, and saw what I was trying to do. There was an open module just 20 feet away.

 

210 burst into the room, and I waited. Seconds felt like years. When the beast was directly in front of me, I pulled the trigger. A sound like a thousand thunderclaps echoed throughout the room, and the recoil threw me back in the wall behind me. The beast, on the other hand, flew straight into the module.

 

319 put in the 'lock' access code on the console he was at, then Mabel, Soos, and Pacifica turned the keys he'd given them. The module's LED turned a dark red, and the speaker made satisfying alarm sound.

 

We regrouped in the middle. “Why couldn't we just kill that thing? I mean, what if we ever come back down here, and it escapes again?”

 

“It is not our place to destroy any of the author's works,” 319 said. A siren sounded through the bunker, and he waved us forward. “Come on, we have more pressing matters to attend to.”

 

* * *

****

I asked 319 about the alarms.

 

“Due to the explosions, the nuclear reactors that power the bunker were knocked slightly out of position, and they're growing more and more unstable. The risk of a meltdown or another explosion is growing by the minute. Withing the hour the entire state of Oregon will be dust.”

 

Without a word, we followed him deeper underground, and eventually we came to a sealed door marked 'Power Control Room'. I quickly glanced around the hallway, looking for any sign of an access panel.

 

Surprisingly, Pacifica stepped forward. “Don't worry, guys, I got this,” she said, poking around the wall to the left of the door. “My parents made me take random classes for every little thing, and I guess it's paying off. They wanted me prepared for every contingency,  I guess. She worked her way around the door, occasionally knocking on the wall, testing for a hollowed out space, I guess.

 

Within a minute, she had found and opened a  small panel to the right of the door. There were tons of buttons, flashing different colors and symbols. I stepped forward. “Here, I'll handle this. All it'll take is a bit of code breaking. Pacifica held up a hand, blocking me from the panel. She picked out a pattern almost immediately, and punched a combination. The door slid free.

 

I was in shock. I had no idea that Pacifica was so adept at cryptology. “How's _that_ for code breaking, Dipper?” she said, smirking defiantly.

 

I blushed, speechless. Pacifica laughed, then nonchalantly strode through the doorway into the next room.  Everyone else followed, while I stood there in awe. “ Come on, Dipper! We don't have all day!” I stepped forward, blushing even harder.


	5. Experiment 319 (Part 2 - Fission)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper, Mabel, Soos, Pacifica, and 319 rush to shut down the reactors and escape the bunker before something goes horribly wrong...

**The Paradox Canon**

 

**Book 1: On Gilded Wings**

 

**Chapter 4: Experiment 319**

 

**Act 1: Eccentricities**

 

**Part 2: Fission**

 

* * *

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**“Quickly, Dipper. We don't have much time,” 319 said, motioning to a control panel on the opposite side of the room.** “That, over there, is the panel that regulates the power levels of the different sections of the facility. The only way to save everyone within 600 miles is to shut everything down. We're going to go dark, and we'll have to deal with whatever decides to rear its ugly head.”

 

I nodded, and ran over. 319  made his way to a panel about 6 feet to my left, and initiated a shut down sequence. “Dipper, this bunker was set up to  _ never  _ go dark. W e can't shut down without rerouting the power to the storage cells, or it'll activate the bunker's failsafe mechanisms, and we'll be in more trouble then.  Flip that lever on your right, and push the button marked ' battery-array-alpha '. Then, wait 5 seconds, and push the button marked ' manual-failsafe-override '. The power should reset then, and we'll be good.”

 

“ Wait, won't that reroute power from the containment module?” I asked.

 

“If you're worried about 210, forget about it. That section is run by the backup generator. He'll be locked up until long after we leave. As far as I know, there's nothing else worth worrying over in the first module, but even so, is facing one monster worse than letting all of Oregon explode?”

 

I nodded, and did as commanded. The lights went out, plunging us into darkness. The power control room was, according to 319, about a mile above the reactors, and there was a balcony to our left that overlooked the hangar bay that Soos had landed in. Above it, there was a huge monitor that had, before the power had shut down, displayed numerous measurement for a variety of checks and balances. Now, it just displayed a small, blinking 'system-ready'. 319 flipped a switch, and dim, red auxiliary lights came on. 319 had told me that they ran off of energy from the battery arrays, so they'd stay on for about 72 hours before shutting off.

 

The double doors to our right clicked, and slid open. Mabel, Pacifica, and Soos stepped into the room. Those doors led to the Sigma elevators, which connected this room and the reactors. Due to the lockdown, all doors to and from the reactors were locked, but there was a hallway that led from the hangar bay to the doors. 319 had sent Mabel and them to unlock the doors using the access code he'd given them.

 

“ Okay, what next?” asked Mabel.

 

319 thought for a second. “We have to manually shut down the reactors, which will require hazmat suits and  _ lots _ of caution. Anyone who doesn't want to come is welcome to stay here. It'll be safe r here .” When no one spoke up, he continued. “Brave, you lot are. Now, let's see if bravery will get you through this one.”

 

* * *

The path to the elevators was long and straight, with many rooms branching off to the sides. When we passed one, 319 would press a button on the access panel next to the door, and the power would shut down. I noticed that all of the doors in this section had  LED strips above the door. I noted there was red, meaning locked down, and green, meaning open. The strips would invariably turn red when 319 cut the power, though. There was one room he paused at-- th e last room before the elevator.

 

He motioned at the doors to either side of us. “These doors both lead to the same room, which loops around behind the elevator. This, is the largest room in the bunker. This was where the author kept all of his non-sentient, non-alive, experiments, if you know what I mean.” He punched in an access code at the left-hand door, and the strips above the doors turned green.

 

He led us inside, and I could see the truth in his earlier words. This room was _huge._ It seemed about twice as big as the hangar bay, but twice as cramped. There were shelves and tables containing random assortments of items strewn everywhere. It gave the room an air of disorganization, which was strange for the Author. Soos, as soon as he entered the room, ran off to go explore.

 

319 surveyed the mass of disorganized items. “Well, the piece you're looking for might be in here, but we have another job to do while we look for it.”

 

I gave him a questioning look. “That would be...?”

 

“We have to evacuate all of the items out of this room. There's a monorail station down in the Hangar Bay, where we're going to load all of these.”

 

Mabel and Pacifica seemed confused. “Why are we evacuating?” Pacifica asked.

 

319 waved them off. “Don't worry about a thing. Let's just get to work. There are flatbed carts over here that we can use to transport the items,” he said.

 

* * *

It took a while, but we were making good progress. We were steadily making our way to the back of the room, where the last few items remained. 319 said we could keep one thing, provided it wasn't overly dangerous, as I was going to take him up on that promise. 

 

I rounded a table rather quickly, and tripped on a stray box.  I cried out as I landed wrong on my ankle. Pacifica and Mabel rushed over and began to play nurse, while 319 and Soos just simply asked if I was okay from across the room. 

 

Pacifica, having taken numerous health classes, gave me the all clear. She said that I'd come really close to spraining my ankle, but I got lucky. Mabel made sure, one last time, that I was okay, and then returned to evacuating. “I wonder what's in the box you tripped on...” she said.

 

“Same here,” I said. “Here, let's open it. There might be something cool inside.” I got up, noting the mild pain from my ankle, and  pried the box open. 

 

“Huh, it's just books,” Pacifica said, pawing through the contents of the box.

 

“Hold on, not too fast, there might be something good in here,” I said, picking up the books she had tossed aside.

 

She gave me a sarcastic look. “Really?” she said, holding up a book. She read the cover, saying, “You wanna read 'Dennis DeGleary's Guide to Making People Actually Like You'?”

 

I laughed. “Yeah, actually. I could get a  _ lot _ of use out of it.”

 

She rolled her eyes. “You don't need it. I like you just the way you are,” she said, returning the book to the box.

 

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. “Oh, uh, thanks?”

 

She smirked. “You're welcome, Dip.”

 

I stepped closer to her, and began leafing through the box as well. She was just glancing at the covers to books, and tossing them. She was literally judging books my their covers. Shame, Pacifica. Soon, we'd near emptied the box. I picked up the last book, which had no lettering of any kind on its cover.  It was a deep shade of royal blue, with gold leaf

 

I opened it up. “What'cha got there, Dipper?” Pacifica asked.

 

I shrugged. “Dunno, trying to find out.” I read the writing on the first page. “ ** I'm writing this book in July of 1982. It has been about a month since my dear friend and research partner's disappearance. He was always interested in spellcasting, and he had wanted to compile a compendium after he was finished with the Journals. Sadly, he never got to complete his Journals, and I feel as if it is up to me, Fiddleford Hadron McGucket, to finish his work. **

 

** This is a Spell Compendium, containing all of our knowledge on the subject. Inside, you'll find numerous spells, enchantments, and potion recipes. Be warned though, these spell are dangerous, and my lawyer says that I have to say that I'm not responsible for any misuse of the spells listed, or something like that. So, there, Mr. Gennaro, I've done my duty. **

 

** On to the spells! ** ” I read,  and lightly closed the book. “Pacifica, we can't tell anyone else that we found this,” I said, glancing at the others.

 

She nodded. “Especially 319. He's really creepy. I don't trust him one bit.”

 

I shook my head. “I don't think we have any other choice but to trust him. He's the only one that can shut down the reactors and lead us out of here. We still can't tell him about the book, though. He'd never let us keep it.”

 

Pacifica was silent. 

 

“Let's go rejoin the others. They'll start to worry. Remember, not a word to anyone.”

 

She nodded, and we returned to  where the others were loading boxes. When we were almost finished, 319 stopped, and surveyed the room. “You guys are on some kind of huge quest, right?” he asked.

 

“Yeah,” I answered, without so much as looking up.

 

“Go ahead and pick something out of the Author's collection. Something that'll help you on your journey. One for each of you,” he said.

 

“Wait, really?” Mabel asked, giving him a pleading look.

 

“ Absolutely. Go ahead.”

 

We finished up the boxes we were carrying, and then went about looking for something helpful. Mabel almost instantly pulled out an upgraded Grappling Hook, this one with a small computer to guide the shot, and a feature that let you zip line across the rope easily. “Grappling Hook 2.0!” she exclaimed.

 

Pacifica, Soos, and I all laughed,  then Pacifica pulled a big cloak out of a box. “This looks kinda dull,” she said, not at all flattered by the garment's beige coloring. Her opinions on the cloak changed once she had put it on, though. As soon as it fell onto her shoulder, she disappeared.

 

We all looked on in shock. “Wait, Pacifica, what happened?” I asked.

 

“I don't know, hold on,” she said, removing the garment. Instantly, she became visible again.

 

My mouth practically hit the floor. Mabel was amazed, and Soos was just as excited as we were. “Dude, that's an invisibility cloak!” he shouted, his voice filled with an unmistakeable note of glee.

 

Pacifica gave him a questioning look. “No way, really?” she asked.

 

I nodded. “Yeah, put it back on, then look down at yourself,” I said.

 

Pacifica did as I had said, and again she blinked out of sight. She squealed with excitement upon looking down at her invisible form. “No way! This is so cool!” she exclaimed, removing the cloak. “This,” she said, admiring the garment, “I'm taking this.”  Through a few minutes of trial and error, we discovered that the cloak only worked if the hood was up. Pacifica left it on, but with the hood down.

 

Soos and I returned to our search, and soon Soos found a silver pistol-shaped object.  From where I stood, it looked like a regular M1911.  “Huh, there's a switch on the side. Right now, it's set to 'Arclight'. Wonder what that means,” he said, looking down the sights. He saw a  couple  paper target s laying up against the wall nearby, a imed at one, and  pulled the trigger. The weapon expanded slightly, as if forcing something big out of the barrel. The mechanics shifted around, and the gun made a noise like a power generator. The weapon crackled and released a burst of electricity, which hit the target, and almost completely obliterated it.

 

Soos's jaw dropped, and mine soon followed. Pacifica and Mabel had been looking away, but turned when they heard the crackle. “Woah, what just happened?” Mabel asked. “Soos, did you use a lightning spell?”

 

Soos didn't take his gaze away from the annihilated target. “Even better, dude,” he said, flicking the switch. “Now it's set to ' Firefly',” he said, as the gun quite literally changed forms in his hands. The mechanics shifted, and soon Soos was holding what looked to be a small grenade launcher. Soos aimed it at the other target, and smoothly pulled the trigger. The gun charged up again, and fired a burst of energy at the target, vaporizing it on contact. 

 

“Soos, is that a laser gun?” Pacifica asked.

 

“Dude, I think it is,” Soos responded. “Dude, this is like, too cool.”

 

I went back to my search, and soon came up with what looked to be a pair of night vision goggles. I tried them on, and there were no discernible changes in my night vision abilities. My vision seemed exactly the same. Then, Pacifica stepped into view, and I understood what they were. “Hey, what'd you find, Dipper?” she asked.

 

I took them off, blushing fiercely. “Night vision goggles,” I said, lying through my teeth.

 

She gave me an odd look, but shrugged it off. When she walked off, I sighed in relief, and rejoined the others. By this time, all of the items were loaded in the hangar bay. All we needed to do now was just to shut off the reactors and find the piece.

 

“ Everyone got something but you, Dipper?” 319 asked.

 

“No, I got these night vision goggles,” I said, holding them up.

 

“Ah, I see,” he said. I was willing to bet a million dollars that he knew what the goggles' true purpose was.  “Quickly now, the reactors are steadily building pressure. We need to hurry,” 319 said, leading us to the elevator shaft we'd seen earlier. A big, blue Sigma was embossed on the doors. 

 

319 pushed a button to the right of the elevator, and the doors slid open with a pleasant 'ding'. We all stepped inside, and descended.

 

**\- - - Pacifica Northwest - - -**

 

**The elevator doors opened once again, and I could instantly tell we were deeper underground.** The air here was thicker, and had a strange  sweet smell to it. Everything seemed to be tinted a sickening green color. Signs were posted around the room all saying things to the effect of 'Danger! Radiation! Stay Clear!'.

 

319 quickly led us into  the next room which was lined with several control panels. 319 payed no attention to the panel however, and led us straight to the back wall, which had lockers containing hazmat suits and walkie-talkies.

 

“Here, each of you, put on a suit, and take a radio. We'll have to split up to accomplish this in a timely manner, so communication is key. Don't worry about static, either. The signal will be disrupted by our proximity to the reactors. Let's go,” he said. Once we were in the suits, he led us to a big set of double doors. He pushed a button on the right side of the doors, and the doors slid open with a hiss.

 

The doors closed behind us, and a simulated female voice began speaking. “Airlock procedure now activated.  Please stand by for depressurization,” she said as the hissing of the air filters began. Soon the doors in front of us clicked, and slid open. We  then stepped into the reactor.

 

319 pointed to the left. “Dipper, Pacifica, head that way. Look for the auxiliary power line. Shut the circuit off. Mabel, Soos, go that way,” he said, pointing to the right. “Shut down the  heating unit .”

 

We all went our separate ways.

 

Dipper and I trudged down the left corridor, and I noticed that all of the halls were uniform down here. There was steam everywhere down here, and the walls and floor were just strips of chain link that was covering pipes. It was unbearably hot in here, but it had to be. The reactor had to boil water somehow.

 

“Are you getting a really creepy feeling about all of this? Do you feel like we're being watched?” Dipper asked.

 

I shook my head vehemently. “I don't want to think about it.”

 

The sweet smell had gotten stronger, but I chalked it up to our proximity to the reactor. Dipper and I kept on our path, and had almost reached an intersection when the radio sprang to life. “Hello? 319? We found the  heating unit . Can you walk us through the shut down process?” Mabel asked, her voice coated in a heavy layer of static.

 

319's gruff, heavy voice boomed through. “Open the panel and look for a primer switch. Pump it three times, then pull the lever labeled  'thermal valves' down. That'll close  off the  ventilation, which spreads the heat to the reactor. Eventually, the unit will shut down once the computer realizes that the heat isn't going anywhere. ”

 

Confirmation that the task was done was received from Mabel, and we continued on.

 

When we reached the intersection, I clicked my own radio. “Okay, 319, we're at an intersection. There are paths leading forward and right. Where do we go?” I asked.

 

The radio crackled loudly, then 319 began speaking. “Can you give me more detail? Any identifying marking in your area?”

 

I looked around. “There's a big pipe on the ceiling running along the left wall. It's marked with blue dashes in intervals of about 6 inches.”

 

319 responded instantly. “You're at 12A. Go straight, the right at the next intersection.”

 

We responded in the affirmative, and did as told. As we progressed through the corridors, the sweet smell grew ever stronger, and I kept seeing things in my peripheral vision. Small flashed of movement. Not enough to warrant alarm, but enough to warrant fear and paranoia.

 

The constant bursts of steam coming from the pipes didn't help, either. The valves would always click in and out at the worst times, releasing routine bursts of steam to relieve  pent up pressure.

 

After taking the right turn like 319 had said, we quickly came to another intersection. “319, we're at another crossroads. There's a pipe on the floor that turns sharply right, and a stack of crates marked 'Liquid O 2 Coolant'.

 

319 thought for a second. “Take a left. You'll come to a junction marked with the  Greek letter Epsilon.  T ell me when you get there.”

 

I was about to respond when one of the pipes to my right hissed loudly. Dipper and I both jumped, and saw that one of the valves had been loosened. Manually. “Uh, Pacifica, did you see anything?” Dipper asked.

 

“No, I didn't, which makes it worse.”

 

319's voice crackled through the radio. “What happened?” he asked.

 

“Something loosened the valve on a pipe next to us, and neither of us did it.”

 

“That's not good. Not good at all. It only confirms my suspicions. I don't want to alarm you all, but we're being hunted.” 319 sounded very worried, as the situation implied.

 

“What do you mean?” Mabel and I asked, almost in tandem. I could faintly hear Soos's distressed voice coming from Mabel's side, as well.

 

“Dipper, do you remember when we rerouted the power?” 319 asked.

 

Dipper instantly replied. “You mean, when we shut down that one sector  earlier ?”

 

“Yes, I'm afraid we released something terrible. Worse than 210. Experiment-” a pipe burst on his side. A shrill shriek was audible. “Run, all of you! Run, dammit! Dipper, hurry to the switch, then leave!” The  radio clicked off, but we could faintly hear the heavy clanking of footsteps coming from far  away .

 

Dipper and I, coming to a silent agreement, proceeded down the corridor. Soon, we indeed came to the junction that 319 had talked about. A bright red Epsilon was embossed in the center of the junction, surrounded in the same hand design on everything else around here. Something that looked to be a fuse box rested on the wall next to us. 319 rounded the corner ahead of us, and we were blinded by a flash of forest green and stark white.

 

Dipper, without so much as a second though, ripped open the box. He pulled the lever downwards, and we could hear the reactors slowly shut down. “Go, get out of here, dammit!” 319 called, already running in the opposite direction of the junction. “Whatever you do, don't look back!”

 

His words weren't necessary; we were already booking it back towards the control room.  For a while, there was no sound other than the constant clanking of our shoes on the metal floor. Then, we heard Soos's pistol in  taser mode. The gun fired 4 times, then we heard Soos yelling. “Ah, it has to cool down! Mabel watch out!” he said, and we heard a sound like metal rending. 

 

The reactor groaned,  and the sound of tearing metal grew louder. Dipper and I made it to the airlock with perfect timing, with Soos and Mabel joining us within seconds. “Dipper, we have to go! Close the airlock,” I said, in my old, commanding tone.

 

He shot me a look. “I'm not going to 319 in there. I'm not going to leave  _ any _ of you guys behind. Got it?”

 

A second later, 319 charged into the airlock. “Go! Start it! Now!” he exclaimed. Dipper instantly pushed the button, and the airlock hissed as the air from the reactor was being filtered out. “What was that thing?” Mabel asked.

 

319 eyed her questioningly. “You saw it?”

 

Mabel shook her head. “No, but it chased us.”

 

319 nodded. “I see. That was Experiment-” he was cut off by the airlock doors opening, and the groaning of the reactor. “Go! Get to the elevator! The reactor is going down, and if we're still on this floor, we'll be going with it!”

 

Without a second thought, we  ran for the elevator. 

 

 

** \- - -  Dipper Pines - - - **

 

** Led by 319, we sprinted back down to the hangar bay.  Soon after we reached the hangar , the ground shook violently as the reactor crumbled.  ** The quake brought us to the ground almost immediately, violently jarring us . The lights flickered and I could hear things crashing around all over the bunker. Soon, the tremor subsided, and we slowly got our feet. The tremor had completely stopped the bunker from generating any new power, so from this point, we were relying completely on the auxiliary batteries. We were on a time crunch now.

 

Mabel and Pacifica groaned, and Soos rubbed his  right elbow. “Everyone okay?” I asked.

 

Soos groaned. “Dood, I hit my arm again. Other than that, I'm good to go.”

 

“Yeah,” Mabel said, and Pacifica soon followed with: “I'm fine.”

 

We got up and shook ourselves off. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the  hangar, leaving debris haphazardly spread about.

 

319 motioned at a small structure next to the bay doors. “Head that way! That'll take you out of here. I'll get the piece, and meet you there,”  he said, splitting off from the group, heading left. 

 

We headed off, and w ithin seconds, we reached the door. I flung it open to reveal, what else? Another elevator. This one was embossed with a bright red Gamma, surrounded by the six-fingered hand. A small sign next to the elevator read: 'Down | To Monorail'.

 

“Monorail?” asked Mabel.

 

“I guess so. I wonder where it leads,” I said, pressing the 'down' button.

 

“Maybe to another one of the author's secret lairs!” Soos exclaimed.

 

I shot him a half-amused look. “No thanks. I've had enough bunker for one day.”

 

My walkie-talkie crackled. “Hey, Dipper, Pacifica, I have one last job for you two. Follow my instructions carefully. We can't afford to mess this up,” 319 said. “Head back out into the hangar bay, don't worry about the experiment.”

 

The elevator doors dinged, and opened. “319, the elevator is here. We'll get separated,” I pleaded. “No go, Dipper. Soos and Mabel need to get to the monorail station, and wait for us there.” Mabel and Soos stepped onto the elevator.

 

I shot Mabel a questioning look. “Bro-bro, we need to do as he says if we want to get out of here without getting hurt,” she said.

 

I sighed. “Come on, Pacifica,” I said, holding the door to the bay open. She followed, and the doors to the elevator closed. “319? We're in the hangar bay. What now?”

 

“Do you remember when we were being chased by 210?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, I guess so,” I replied.

 

“Remember when Soos got split off from the group?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“We took the left path  out of the labs , he took the right. While we ended up in the dining area, he ended up in the coal storage unit. I need you to head there.”

 

“Got it,” I said.

 

We quickly made our way  to the northwest corner of the hangar, and down the hallway we found there. The labs were exactly as we had left them, except for the faint marks that 210 had left when it had shuffled through. 

 

Wasting no time, we took the right hand doo r. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the next room was that it was cold. Extremely cold. There were freezers containing liquid oxygen spread about the room, and a shattered glass tube next to the door. 

 

“Woah, what could have happened here?” I asked.

 

Pacifica shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

 

I smirked. “I guess so, if you know what I mean,” I replied, and earned a swat on the arm for that terrible pun.

 

We took a closer look at the tube and noticed two things. There was a strange, green fluid leaking from the remains, and there was a metal plate on the right side. 'Experiment 158 – The Ultimate Predator', it read.

 

Pacifica and I turned to look at each other. “'The Ultimate Predator'?” she asked.

 

I shrugged. “I don't exactly want to stay to find and find out,” I said, already starting for the next room. My statement would've held a lot more ground had I not tripped over a pole a half-a-second later. I hit my left knee hard when I fell, and it hurt to put weight on it. I mentally berated myself for not seeing the pole  beforehand .

 

I turned to look at it, and saw that it was coat rack. Or, in this case, a labcoat rack. I noticed that one of the labcoats was missing, leaving two to remain. I guessed that the escaped experiment has stolen one and had knocked over the rack in the process.

 

Pacifica came over and inspected my knee. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” she asked.

 

I nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine. It hurts a bit when I walk, but I should be fine.”

 

She looked me in the eyes. “Dipper, are you sure you're fine? This looks a bit worse than you're letting on.”

 

I nodded awkwardly. “Y-yeah, I'm fine.”

 

She eyed me suspiciously. “Sure you are. C'mon, let's keep going before your adrenaline rush wears off.”

 

I smiled weakly. “Yeah, you're right,” I said, already starting for the next room.

 

She rolled her eyes,  but I could tell she was getting a kick out of this .

 

The next room was so hot that it was on fire. Quite literally, actually. There were little smolders running back and forth between piles of leftover coal. The support beams had been all but destroyed, and I wasn't sure how the room hadn't collapsed already. Still no chances were going to be taken. I quickly grabbed Pacifica's hand (ignoring her 'Hey!' of protest) and ran for the elevator (marked with a Lambda).

 

Once we were safely inside,  I wasn't sure if she was going to slap me or even just silently hate me. Instead, she hugged me. I eyed her awkwardly, and she just laughed. “What's wrong, Dipper?”

 

“I'm not a fan of physical contact,” I said.

 

“Aww, can't take a friendly hug?” Pacifica asked, a devilish smirk gracing her face.

 

“Apparently not. Anyway, do you think that could've been the room that Soos blew up?”

 

“ Yeah, probably, but don't change the subject, moron.”

 

I rolled my eyes. “Any other stipulations, your highness?”

 

She gave me an odd look. “Oh, and stop using smart-people words, you're making my head hurt. What does that even mean?”

 

I laughed  heartily . “Oh, no, you're turning into Mabel!”  I said, earn ing a slug on the sh oulder.

 

The elevator doors slid open, and the first thing I noticed was that the room ahead was  _ very _ dark. It looked like there once had been dim lights in here, but the power here had been cut when we shut down the reactors.

 

Pacifica and I stepped out of the elevator and surveyed our surroundings. It looked like we were in some kind of mine, which didn't surprise me, given the room above. Another tremor, stronger this time, struck as the reactor shifted once again. The tremor subsided soon after it began, but the area around us seemed unaffected.

 

I reached for my radio, but Pacifica stayed my hand. “No, I want to explore first. 319's hiding something about this place, I know it.”

 

I thought for a second. I didn't trust 319 that much either, but he was essential in getting out of here alive. He did seem to be really reserved in talking about the bunker.

 

“Okay, you win. Let's see what we can find down here,” I said, looking around. There seemed to be a mineshaft running from the left of the elevator all the way down into the depths of the mines. We decided not to go that way.

 

There was a control room to our right, and we decided to check that out, seeing as there wasn't much else down here. The door slid open as we approached it, as was the standard around here. It looked like some of the controls had been corroded away due to moisture, but the majority of the systems were still functioning.

 

I switched on the computer system, and we were greeted with a bright blue-ish light emanating from the monitor. The author's crest appeared on the screen with the words 'Sixer Technologies' under it. My hopes were high for our find, but the next screen threw me for a loop. 'Enter Password:' it said.

 

Thankfully, I had learned from my mistakes earlier this summer. I had found out through Journal 2 that the author had a specific way of generating passwords. I found the serial for the computer: 'CX2B1GS', and ran it through a 12 Caesar Cipher: 'OJ2N1SE'. Next, I took the numbers, and added 6 to them: 'OJ8N7SE'. I keyed that into the box, and was met with a satisfying ding sound as the computer unlocked.

 

Not knowing where to start, I clicked the first file on the desktop: 'incoming mail database'.  Reading through the first few lines of the text file, I found out that the author put all of his incoming and outgoing mail into a database after receiving, and before sending a letter. I also found out that all of the computers in the bunker were hooked up to a single network to allow file sha r ing between systems.

 

I scrolled through the file, and was about to click off-there was nothing of interest here. But, as I was clicking away from the file, the heading of a letter at the bottom of the screen caught my eye. 'About our work together'. The sender wasn't McGucket, so I was intrigued.

 

I clicked on the file, and read:

 

“ **It has been too long since we've seen each other, Sixer. 6 months go by in the blink of an eye. Leighton, Jaykis, Sampton and I have missed you. To hell with formalities, Sixer. It's been 6 months. Come out of that bunker already and get some fresh air! I know you haven't gotten a call to arms in a while, and want to rest, but you're cooping yourself up. I can't even begin to imagine what 6 months of isolation does to a man mentally.**

 

**\- M** **o** **bius”**

 

“Wow, someone was an introvert,” Pacifica said.

 

“Yeah, really. I wonder who Leighton, Jaykis, Sampton, and M o bius are,” I replied.

 

Pacifica paced for a bit. “I think I know who M o bius is.  Daniel is always bragging about being related to August Möbius, so it might be his father, Mason Austillor.”

 

“It's plausible. We need more information, though. I-”

 

The radio crackled. “Hello? Is anyone there? Is everyone okay?” 319 asked.

 

Mabel responded before I could grab my walkie-talkie. “Yeah, we're fine. Dipper, how are you guys doing?” she asked.

 

“Been better,” I said. I decided to get back on track, and not waste anymore time snooping around. “319, we're down in the mines. What do you need us to do?” I asked.

 

“Uh, let me think. You took Lambda, right? There should be a control room to your right. I need you to shut off the air filters down there, then make your way back up here. We'll meet back at the monorail station. Mabel? Soos? Alert me if anything goes down. I'll be there in 5 minutes.”

 

The radio shut off. “Well, let's do as he said, I guess,” Pacifica said.

 

**\- - - Mabel Pines - - -**

 

** The monorail station was strangely quiet. ** There was nothing here to make noise – no loud machinery, or really anything. Soos and I had taken to organizing the non-sentient objects, which 319 had sent down  earlier via a freight elevator.

 

It was tedious, but it was  _ something  _ to do. The station was bland, with nothing but a train and a control panel. Not much in the way of entertainment. The author should've invested in a few flatscreen TVs, know what I'm sayin'?

 

We were digging through box number 31 when I found a  case of long, narrow tubes. I took one out, and Soos was instantly in awe. “Dood! That's a flashbang grenade!”

  
“What now?” I asked.

 

“When it goes off, it releases a big flash, kinda' like a camera,” he answered.

 

I nodded. “Oh, okay! Sounds kinda' boring though. Wonder if I can modify them...”

 

Soos shrugged. “Maybe.”

 

Just then, the elevators doors opened, and out stepped 319. “Mabel? Soos? We need to get going, now.”

 

“ Huh? What's going on?” I asked.

 

“Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?” he asked.

 

“Not really, unless you count these flashbangs,” Soos said.

 

319 frowned. “Haven't you noticed? We were being chased earlier. Where did it go? I haven't seen it, and you two haven't either, which leaves only one possible explanation. We need to find Dipper and Pacifica, now!”

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**The elevator opened.** Pacifica and I instantly whipped around, on guard immediately.  No one was coming down here. Mabel and Soos were at the monorail station. 319 was on his way there. This was 158. It had to be. I motioned for Pacifica to get down, and she complied. I followed, and soon we were both laying prone in a back corner of the control room, out of sight from the door. 

 

We heard the clank of the metal floor.  Then a second later, another. Something was walking. I couldn't tell if it was coming this way, but we couldn't exactly wait around and see. I quickly looked around the room, and saw that there was a second door to our left, roughly opposite the first. I could see that it led out into the mines via a window to the left of it. The LED above it? Red.

 

Where was the unlock? The air filter? I looked around the room, and saw that the answer to both problems, the security override, was all the way across the room. A small sign next to said override told me the generator for the air filters was outside the room, next to where the mineshaft started.

 

I tapped Pacifica's shoulder, and silently, she turned to face me. “I'm gonna need you to use your cloak,” I whispered. She gave a 'shut up!' look, and I shook my head. “We're going to have to take our chances.”  I noticed that 158, as that was the only possible explanation, had stopped walking. It was probably listening to us. I continued warily. “ There's a door out of here to our left, but it's locked. There's a switch  on the wall over there that I need you to shut off. Then, I need you to go shut off the generator for the air filters, over on the other side of the elevators. We'll then meet up just outside the door right there, and figure something out.”

 

She took a second to process what I'd said, then nodded. She flipped up the hood on her cloak, and vanished, leaving me alone in the control room.

 

I listened for Pacifica's footsteps, mainly to gauge her progress, but I was greeted with nothing but silence. After a few seconds, I heard the hard metallic clank of 158's claws on the metal, and just barely audible of the clanks, were the soft thumps of Pacifica's footsteps. She was timing her footfalls near perfectly, always synchronized with 158's steps. She had taken into account that the creature probably had an incredible sense of hearing.

 

Laying hidden on the control room floor, seconds felt like minutes, minutes like hours. I was worried sick about Pacifica. Sooner or later, she was bound to make a mistake. Was I prepared to step in and try to save her when that happened?

 

My question was answered for me when two things happened almost simultaneously. Pacifica flipped the door lock, and 158 stepped into the control room. The lever fell with a loud clunk, and 158 whipped around to face it.

 

This was my first chance to get a good look at the beast. It was tall and thin with green reptilian scales for skin. It's head looked like a cross between a 'velociraptor' from Jurassic Park and an Argonian from the time I'd seen Lee and Nate play Skyrim. A stark white labcoat was draped, unbuttoned, over its shoulders, giving it a rather sophisticated look.

 

Bluntly speaking, I found the thing horrifying. I was frozen with a mix of both anticipation and fear. Tension hung in the air like a huge blanket. In other words, it was smothering me and weighting me down simultaneously.

 

158's eyes quickly flicked around the room, making sure that there was nothing of interest, then suspiciously turned to leave. I silently sighed in relief when I heard the metallic footsteps fade away into the caves.

 

Now, all I had to do was wait.

 

* * *

Soon, I heard a deep rumbling noise, as if  the reactor was shifting again. My fears were abated, however, when I heard a simulated female voice over the speakers. “ **Air Filtration Manual Override Successful** ,” it said. 

 

I heard a shriek as 158 moved to investigate. Everything was set up perfectly. Now I just needed to wait for...

 

“Hey, Dipper, let's go! Hurry!” Pacifica whispered, removing her hood. She stood 5 feet away from the other door,  poised to run if need be. Without a second thought, I got up from my hiding place in the corner of the room, and we were off. I heard a shriek as 158 realized our escape, which only caused us to run faster. “What's the plan?” Pacifica asked, risking a quick glance behind us.

 

“We'll loop back around to the elevator. If we can get back there before 158 can cut us off, we'll hopefully be able to make it back upstairs without it. From there, it's a near straight shot to the monorail station,” I said.

 

“Did some thinking while you were hiding?” Pacifica asked, a wry smirk decorating her face.

 

“Honestly, I juts came up with that. Adrenaline helps more than just muscles, you know,” I said, trying to seem suave and quick.

 

“Ha. Save the bragging for later, doofus,” she said, narrowly avoiding a rock in our path.

 

We quickly whizzed by a sign, and I decided to double back. “Hold on, let's see what this says, Pacifica.”

 

“Are you crazy? That thing is still behind us!”

 

Ignoring her, I inspected the sign. It was a map of the upper section of the mines. A red arrow pointed out: 'You Are Here'. I frowned-we were farther from the elevator than I thought.

 

Our radios buzzed. “Hello? Dipper? Pacifica?” Mabel called out.

 

Quick on the draw, I beat Pacifica to the button. “Yeah, we're here. Is it important?” I asked.

 

“Dipper, of course it's important! It's not like I'm gonna tell you about all 37 of my crushes or something!” Mabel replied, in mock offense.

 

“Ugh, anything but that again. Mabel, we're kinda being hunted. What's the deal?”

 

“Oh, seems like you've already met 158 then.”

 

“The lizard? Oh, of course.”

 

“Yeah, that's it. Okay, so you're gonna wanna-”

 

A sharp burst of static filled the frequency as 319 grabbed the radio from Mabel. “Listen, Dipper. If you can make it back to  the elevator, great! If not, you can just-”

 

319 was cut off and the entire earth seemed to groan and collapse. I knew it wasn't just the reactor this time. Rocks on all sides of us broke loose and were thrown around by the shift in weight. I heard a deafening metallic crash, and a split second later, the shock wave hit, and knocked us both back a bit.

 

The same female voice played over the intercom. “ **ERROR: Structural Malfunction #159-A3: Elevator Lambda is experiencing structural malfunction. ERROR: Structural Malfunction #273-J9: Cave In: Upper Mines. ERROR: System Malfunction #8253-B19: Complete Systems Loss: Upper Mines. ERROR: System Malfunction #8253-B1: Power Loss: Upper Mines. ADVISORY: Avoid Upper Mines at all costs!** ”

 

“God dammit!” 319 cursed, rage entering his voice. “That... _ thing _ caused a rock slide. You're locked down to that level now.”

 

It took Pacifica a second to process that information. “Wait, you mean we're stuck down here?” she asked.

 

319 sighed, trying to calm himself. “Not exactly. There's another monorail station at the far end of the mines. You should be able to reach it, even with the cave ins. Just be careful. We'll meet you at the station.”

 

“Got it,” I said, then quickly switched my radio off. “Come on, Pacifica, we need to leave.”

 

She bit her lip, as if she was holding back a complaint. “Yeah, let's go.”

 

Now that I think about it, we got  _ really  _ lucky that day. I mean, besides all of the bad things that happened. Now that 158 was on hunt/attack mode, we needed to leave as soon as possible. Thankfully, the monorail station was only about 300 feet down one of the tunnels.

 

The upper section of the author's mines weren't exactly large. There were several main tunnels that led to and fro, spawning lots of side paths leading deeper underground. That was how the mine got its size, the hundreds of shafts splitting off, making the mine seem like a giant ant hill, or maybe a spider's web.

 

“There! It's right up ahead!” Pacifica called out.

 

“ Fantastic! We need all the luck we can get right now!” I replied.

 

As if on cue, with the sound akin to a thousand airliners, the monorail approached. Pacifica and I listened as the magnets drew the monorail closer, starting its slow deceleration.

 

“Perfect timing, as usual,” Pacifica said, basking in the limelight.

 

I gave her a sarcastic look. “You act like you caused said perfect timing.”

 

She daintily pretended to push me aside. “Pssh, Pines, one day you'll learn that my presence makes perfect timing happen.”

 

“Whatever that means...” I trailed off.

 

“What was that, Pines?” she asked, batting her eyebrows.

 

“Er...nothing. What's with all of the grandeur all of the sudden, Pacifica?”

 

She shrugged. “You'll learn in time that I always have an air of grandeur about me.”

 

I raised an eyebrow. “You keep saying that I'll 'learn in time'. What is that supposed to mean? Pacifica, you're acting more and more like your former self every  minute.”

 

Now it was her turn to look confused. “Uh, Dipper? You're obviously going to learn more about me since we're-” she abruptly stopped, her face instantly turning a deep crimson color, as if she'd just had an embarrassing realization.

 

“Okay, then. I'm just going to pretend that never happened,” I said, not really masking my confusion.

 

Pacifica started to form a response, but decided against saying anything.

 

After an extremely awkward 30 seconds, the monorail finally came to a full stop in the station. The side doors slid open, and Soos beckoned to us from the first of the four cars. “Hey doods, over here! This thing is stupid cool!”

 

“On our way, Soos,” I said, already walking over. Pacifica's face contorted into a multitude of different expressions, like she was deep in thought. She eventually just decided to follow me onto the train.

 

I was less than 15 feet from the sliding doors when I felt a slight burning sensation in the back of my head. Suddenly, the sensation exploded, wracking my head with a series of migraines worse than my mom used to get. I cried out, hands on my temples, trying desperately to sooth the pain. I then smelled a sickeningly sweet smell, and heard a gentle, smooth voice whispering sweet, incomprehensible nothings as everything around me faded to black.

 

**\- - - Pacifica Northwest - - -**

 

**Dipper's sudden scream scared the crap out of me. I'll admit to you, and only you, Alex, that I said some things I'm not proud of.**

 

Dipper fell to his knees, screaming like a banshee. 319, Soos, and Mabel all quickly stepped out of the monorail, coming to see what the matter was. I, like any good secret admirer, was the first to reach him. In the time it had taken me to reach him, he'd curled up into fetal position, out cold.

 

Before much could be done to help him or even determine what was happening, a harsh shriek pierced the moist cavern air like an arrow. The 4 of us that were fully conscious whipped around to see 158 in all of its glory. It stood there, staring at us, seemingly mocking us.

 

“Everyone, get back!” 319 yelled, motioning back to the train. He brandished his gun at the lizard.

 

Soos freaked out upon seeing it, naturally. Looking back, I don't think we would've made it out alive if he hadn't. He frantically pulled out the pistol he'd found earlier, and unleashed a huge bolt of electricity. Under the pressure and adrenaline, he bucked under the recoil, and the shot went wild. Fortunately, 319, predicting a shot, leaped to the right. Soos's shot? Far to the right.

 

158 screeched again as the electricity hit it and arced across its body. “Quickly!” 319 said, “Get Dipper, and let's leave!”

 

Mabel and I picked up Dipper's unconscious form, and began lugging him onto the train. 319 was already aboard by the time we'd picked Dipper up, and Soos was trying to calm himself after his outburst.

 

“Soos, come on!” Mabel pleaded, “We don't have much time!”

 

Mabel knocked Soos back down to earth, and he looked startled, as if he'd been woken from a deep sleep. “Doods, what happened?” he asked, groaning and rubbing his head.

 

“It doesn't matter right now! Just get on board!” I exclaimed, in no mood to deal with more supernatural crap.

 

Soos obeyed, thankfully. He only gave a nod before quickly shuffling on board the monorail. Now, everyone was inside. “We're good, 319! Everyone's on board!” I called out. Almost instantly, I heard the train powering up.

 

Mabel and I then turned our attention back to Dipper, who we'd laid on the floor of the car. I started checking for vitals and the works, struggling to remember the first aid class I'd taken a couple years back.

 

Strange, all of his vitals were clear. He seemed to be in near-perfect condition. I couldn't help but think that 158 was connected to this in some way. It had shown up right after Dipper was incapacitated. I wondered exactly wha-

 

The train jolted, and began to move, ironically breaking my train of thought.

 

I was about to turn to ask Mabel for help when Dipper twitched. With every passing second, Dipper twitched more and more, eventually becoming full on convulsions. I put a hand out and gently pushed Mabel away from him, backing up myself as well. If I remembered correctly, you weren't supposed to touch a seizing person.

 

Suddenly, an aggressive yet smooth and gentle voice spoke out. “Step away from the boy!” It said.

 

Mabel and I froze. We looked around, and seeing nothing only freaked us out further.

 

“I said, step away from the boy!” it said, louder this time.

 

When Mabel and I yet again did nothing, it materialized. 158 slowly faded out of invisibility. It was lounging comfortably in one of the benches about 15 feet away.

 

Mabel screamed, but I was just confused. “But how?” I asked.

 

It laughed. _It laughed at me._ That wasn't even the worst part! It's laugh was smooth and soothing, not harsh and cold like I'd expected. I noticed that this thing even had a slight British accent.

 

“No matter,” it said, getting up. “It's been too long since I've been able to prey on fresh blood! Ahh, the possibilities! That damned virus has been keeping me locked up for ages.”

 

319 and Soos burst into the car from the control car, and froze upon seeing 158 so close to Dipper.

 

“Back away, 319! I have control here! I am the superior experiment, the pinnacle of Sixer's ability!”

 

319's face was twisted into a gruesome snarl. “Beast, you have no place here. Begone!”

 

158 laughed again. Its laugh seemed to have the same effect on everyone. It was slightly comforting, but more unsettling than anything else.

 

“This boy is my prey, 319! If you wish to live, then _back_ _away_!”

 

We refused to move.

 

“ Ah, fine. I'm a civilized being. Your...friend is already under the influence of Experiment 04 7 , but if you truly wish to save him, you can do so by besting me in combat. If you manage to do so, I will peacefully leave you. If not, however, the boy is mine to prey on!”

 

We all looked to 319.

 

He stood there, his mask betraying no emotions. “I...I believe we have no choice.”

 

The lizard grinned evilly, flashing his surprisingly white teeth, all sharpened to impossible points. “Excellent. Now, let us begin,” he said. He took a single step backwards.

 

I knew I was forgetting something. I knew it, but I couldn't remember! Something about... “Wait!” I exclaimed. “Let me get something off of him!”

 

The lizard glanced down to Dipper, no longer convulsing, but very much incapacitated. I slowly walked up. From his coat, I pulled the spell book, and the binoculars he'd found. Why, I wasn't sure.

 

I stepped back to my original position, and began flipping through the spell book, looking for something that would help.

 

The lizard smirked, if you could even call it that. “Magic? My dear girl, that's in  _very_ poor taste. There'll be none of that, or the contest is off! We can't have cheaters, can we?” it asked innocently.

 

Gritting my teeth, I stowed the book inside my jacket.

 

158 laughed, and stepped back farther...before shedding his lab coat and fading into invisibility. “Let the games begin!” it said, now somewhere at the very end of the car.

 

319 raised his rifle. “Mabel, go to the control car, you'll be safe there!”

 

Mabel pouted. “Why does Pacifica get to stay?” she asked.

 

“There's no time for this, Mabel!” he said.

 

Mabel thought for a second, before nodding and leaving.

 

“Then like magic, there are only three!” 158 taunted, now closer. It was masking its voice in such a way that locating it was made almost impossible.

 

“Pacifica, the goggles!” 319 said.

 

“What?” I asked.

 

“The goggles! The ones Dipper grabbed from the artifact room, put them on!”

 

I did as instructed, and saw why Dipper was trying to cover his tracks. They were x-ray goggles. But wait, didn't I step in front of him? My face instantly turned a deep scarlet color. Before I could embarrass myself further, I realized why 319 was so adamant about these. I could  _see_ 158!  Well, sight for lack of a better word. I could make out a faint, moving green blob about 158's size. Considering the situation, it was a safe bet to assume that was it.

 

“It's crawling along the wall! 2 o'clock!” I called to Soos and 319.

 

They whipped around and gunfire rang out. I realized that I'd need to be less of a target. 158 would kill me first, knowing that I possessed their only hope of defeating him. So, I flipped up the hood on my cloak, and stealthily made my way to the other end of the bus.

 

Soos and 319 spread out, creating a small, probably ineffective barrier around Dipper. A hush had fallen over the room. Then, as if on cue, Soos yelped and whipped around, firing a electrical shot wildly. Probably paranoid, and had overreacted to something in his peripherals.

 

158, however, was slowly edging closer to them. “Hey! It's right th-” I was cut off as my mouth was clamped shut by an unknown force.

 

'I have no time for your games, Pacifica Northwest,' 158 spoke in my mind. The most horrible, debilitating headache I'd ever gotten followed. It was as if 158 had taken a section of my skull, and twisted it, leaving it pressing and chafing against the rest of my head. I couldn't help but cry out.

 

“Pacifica! Hold on!” Soos shouted.

 

'Your friends hope to save you! How adorable! If only they knew what your real motivations are!' 158 said joyfully.

 

'Shut...up...stupid...lizard,' I forced out, barely able to withstand the constant pain in my head.

 

'Ah, but then I wouldn't get to relish in your suffering! I only wish your friends knew your real reason for coming on this...adventure. Your logic is flawed and selfish, Pacifica. You don't truly care about your friends. You only care about _Dipper_. It'd be a shame if something were to...I don't know...happen to him?'

 

I couldn't formulate a response. I was wracked with pain from both 158's stinging words, and the ceaseless pounding in my mind.

 

**\- - - Experiment 319 - - -**

 

**My mind was clear for once, which was strange, both considering the foe I was up against, and my constant torment from...him.** Honestly? The situation was dire. Pacifica was off in a corner somewhere, invisible, and being tormented, Dipper was under the influence of 04 7 , and both the handyman and I wouldn't be able to hold this stalemate for long.

 

I shivered slightly, remembering the time I'd read about Experiment 04 7 . It was a sort of memetic virus. Not transmitted by normal means, such as coughs or exhalations, but by the mind.  It always had a single host, which it would either hinder or help, depending on the circumstances. Stanford's research had shown that the virus had some sort of sentience but we couldn't exactly determine how to communicate with it without hosting it ourselves.

 

It seemed that 047 had taken 158 as a host, but had jumped to Dipper when they'd gotten close enough.  I shuddered, thinking about what the virus might be doing to the boy's mind.

 

Before I could think of a way out of this mess, Pacifica's hood came off, revealing her location. I sprinted over and gently took the goggles from her. She yelped at my touch, but willingly gave up the goggles.

 

Putting them on, it was like I'd opened my eyes for the first time. Colors were brighter, more vivid. Everything seemed to have an unearthly shine about it. I saw a faint green blob creeping towards Dipper and Soos, and opened fire, careful to avoid the two bystanders. This whole scene, right from Mabel retreating until this point, had probably taken around 45 seconds.

 

158 was startled by my shot, and flinched before dodging to the side. It le a p ed up onto the wall of the car and lunged at me, claws at the ready. I sidestepped and wheeled my gun around, pistol-whipping the lizard. It shrieked and recoiled, fading back into the visible spectrum.

 

Soos began firing at it, and scored a hit on its arm. It hissed in anger, and swiped at me, cutting deep into my right arm and knocking the gun out of my hands. I, instead of retreating to grab my weapon, grabbed my pocket knife from the inside of my coat.

 

158 and I dueled for a short time, blade on claws. Soos tried to fire multiple times, but he couldn't get a clear shot and backed down. I slashed at 158, cutting its arm. It backed up, and I began repeating this process, tactically backing it up.

 

Soon, we reached the door of the car, which slid open automatically. I kept backing 158 up, trying to reach the back of the train. With any luck, I'd be able to make it fall out.

 

'You never could accept that I was better, 319. You never could live with the fact that I was Stanford's favorite experiment!' 158 said, flexing it's telepathy.

 

'That's not true, and you know it!' I thought rather loudly, slashing my knife aggressively.

 

Not keen on responding, the beast jumped onto the wall of the car, and lunged at me, knocking me to the ground. I parried a few choice swipes, then curled up and kicked it off of me. It squealed in surprise as it flew back, landing with a hard crash a second or so later. It lunged again, and I ducked, sliding under it. I twisted as I slid, grabbing its leg, and whipping it around.

 

Putting all of my strength into the swing, I launched 158 towards the rear of the train, but it latched onto my arm, pulling me with it.

 

In the next instance I was conscious, I saw that we were both on the rear rail of the monorail, precariously hanging over the magnets below. I figured that the train was probably doing about 50 MPH, so falling would most likely spell instant death.

 

158 was the first one to recover, lithely jumping back into the car. I recalled Mufasa's death scene from The Lion King as the beast approached me, it's claws coated in my own blood. “I'm sorry it had to be this way, 319. Wait, no I'm not! I'm loving every bit of this!” it said, poising to strike me off of the rail.

 

Motion caught the corner of my eye, and I saw Soos stealthily approaching from behind.

 

“Oh, and don't think I've forgotten the other _guests_ , either!” 158 said spinning around quickly, and slashing at Soos.

 

“Ah, dude, no!” he yelped, collapsing onto a seat. Thankfully, in the time it took 158 to dispatch Soos, I'd climbed back up into the monorail. The beast pridefully turned back to me, relishing in its victory.

 

However, it was shocked to see me standing on the inside platform, knife to its throat. “What was that about being the best?” I asked, grabbing the lizard and kicking it backwards, to the railing.

 

I held my knife in both hands, like a vampire hunter would hold a stake. Truly, we hunted the same style of evil. I drove the knife down, ending the lizard's reign of terror. I then collapsed, exhaustion filling me.

 

**\- - - Mabel Pines - - -**

 

**The train stopped. I hadn't seen exactly where, but I had more important matters to attend to.** I carefully slid open the control room door, and peeked outside. Dipper had stopped convulsing, and was now just asleep. Pacifica had crawled over next to him, for whatever reason. (Does she...him..?)

 

Gingerly stepping out into the room, I quickly but quietly made my way to the second car, where Soos and 319  disappeared to. The door slid open automatically, and I saw many things at once. 

 

Soos had fallen asleep after using a piece of his shirt to bandage his chest. 319 was asleep by the back of the car, and 158 was...well...dead.

 

Wondering why everyone was asleep, I checked my watch. 4:21 A.M. Oh yeah, we left at 11:00 last night. I barely had time to think of a way to explain this to Grunkle Stan before I hit the deck myself. I only realize now, that I'd been awake for almost a full day.

 

**\- - - Dipper Pines - - -**

 

**I groaned as I woke up, rubbing my forehead.** I blinked repeatedly, taking in my new surroundings. I was on the monorail, of that I was sure.

 

I sat up, and 4 figures came into view.

 

“Hey, Dipper, you're finally awake!” Pacifica said, multiple band-aids on her arm.

 

“Woo! Dipper didn't die, or anything! Yeah!” Soos said, most of his shirt torn off.

 

“Glad you're better, broseph!” Mabel said, looking mostly normal.

 

319 huffed. “You've been out for 5 hours, Dipper. The rest of us woke up about  5 minutes ago, and we did everything we could to rouse you. We ne ed to breach the matter at hand, though – we need to leave. It's about 9:30, and we need to leave for the location of the next piece immediately if we are to succeed. Bill is most likely already on our trails.”

 

I squinted. “You said we. Then you said our.”

 

319 nodded. “I want to come with you. I feel as if I would be of much help to you, and the bunker is unlivable, now. I have nowhere else to go.”

 

I thought for a second before giving an answer. “Sure. You coming along would be great. You'll be a welcome addition to the team, if they'll have you,” I said, looking to the three other people in the room.

 

A nod from Soos. Pacifica followed suit. One from Mabel, as well.

 

“Then it's official,” I said.

 

319 nodded. “Good. Come, now, we have to reach the airfield. Pacifica, did you contact your pilot?”

 

She nodded. “Cell reception was spotty, I barely got through, but yeah, he'll be there.”

 

319 showed no sign of having heard her before continuing. “Let us be off.”

 

The train's main door slid open as we approached, giving us a grand view of...an elevator. “Where are we now?” I asked.

 

319 never broke stride, walking up and pressing the 'up' button as he spoke. “We're underneath the Mystery Shack, Dipper. Did you not read that this used to be the author's house? The monorail was how he went to and from the bunker on a daily basis.”

 

My face lit up. “Cool! Mabel, you think Stan has noticed our absence yet?”

 

“Pssh! Quit using fancy words, bro-bro! Meh, he might have noticed. I bet he just slept in as usual, though,” Mabel chimed, more singing than speaking.

 

The elevator made a chiming noise, and opened. “I bet he'll be surprised to see 319!” Soos said as we stepped on.

 

“Probably,” I said.

 

Pacifica, who'd been strangely quiet since I woke up, spoke up. “I doubt we'll see him. If we're heading straight for the airfield, we won't be here very long.”

 

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Pacifica,” 319 grumbled, “I'd love to see the old man, but we need to hurry.”

 

I looked down. “Oh well,” I said, reaching into my vest for the spell book. My pockets were empty, save for the my Journals. “Hey, Pacifica, you seen my stuff?” 

 

She nodded, and handed me my book, and the goggles. “We had to use them in the fight with 158, but it's all here.”

 

“Good, thanks,” I mumbled, flipping through the pages. I wondered how much use the spells would see in the coming days.

 

The elevator rumbled to a stop, and we were greeted with a view of Soos's break room when the doors opened. “Oh, cool! I know this room!” Soos called.

 

We all stepped out, and I saw that the elevator was cleverly concealed in the wall of the room. An indentation in the pattern of the wallpaper gave away the location of the button.

 

Not stopping for any thing but to pack, we left the Shack in Soos's pickup, heading straight for the airfield. Conveniently, Pacifica had Alfred pack for her, and had him go by Soos's grandma's to collect his suitcase. There was nothing stopping us from heading off.

 

Soon, we rolled up to the airfield, and I set off to work finding the next location – that was all we needed at this point. Not the hint, or anything. Just location. My work eventually became fruitful as I decoded 'Sante Fe, New Mexico'. We were in for a treat.

 

We then all settled in for the flight, and for some well needed rest. We were all exhausted after fighting monsters and running through tunnels for 5 hours. By my count, we'd only gotten 5 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours.

 

* * *

**I fumbled with the book as I shifted in my chair. Mabel and Pacifica both smiled daintily at my expression, Daniel merely rolled his eyes, and you? Well, you, Alex, couldn't contain your laughter.**

 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I know that I've been trying to do less of these, but I felt that this chapter needed some explanation. This story is told in past tense, but (most) of the narrator's are actually present, telling this story many years after the events take place. You'll see what I mean. Trust me, you're going to like what I have in store.
> 
>  
> 
> Sidenote: No, Alex is not Alex Hirsch. I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out his/her identity.


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